Morning Wire - Stop the Madness: A NYC Democrat Takes on Sanctuary City Policies | 8.18.24

Episode Date: August 18, 2024

New York City Council member Robert Holden opposes the policies enacted by his Democratic party that are leading to more violent crime. Get the facts first on Morning Wire.Black Rifle Coffee: Drink America's coffee at https://www.blackriflecoffee.com/ Balance of Nature: Get 35% off Your Order + FREE Fiber & Spice Supplements. Use promo code WIRE at checkout: https://www.balanceofnature.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New York City's sanctuary policies for illegal immigrants are being blamed in part for a series of shocking crimes, including the alleged rape of a woman at knife point in Coney Island. The string of violence amid the uptick in migrants flowing into the city has prompted some political leaders, including even a few Democrats, to condemn the city's handling of the crisis. In this episode, we talked to one of those Democrats, a New York City council member, about what it will take to turn things around in the Big Apple. I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's August 18th, and this is a Sunday edition of Morning Wire. Hey guys, producer Brandon here. Black Rifle Coffee helps you wake up each morning feeling dialed in and ready to make the most of your day. And now's your chance to get 20% off your purchase using code Daily Wire at black rifle coffee.com.

All of their explosive coffees are roasted right here in the USA by a veteran-led team of expert roasters obsessed with crafting the perfect cup of coffee. Every black rifle purchase makes it possible for Black Rifle Coffee Company to help provide funding, training, and equipment to our nation's military and first responders. Head to their site now for 20% off your purchase with Code Daily Wire. Joining us now to discuss the string of violent crime in New York City and the impact of illegal immigration is Democrat New York City Councilman Robert Holden, Counselman. Thank you so much for joining us. My pleasure.

So I'd like to ask you about this alarming trend we've seen of violence connected to illegal immigrants that have had an increasing presence in your city. You've spoken out about this. In fact, I wanted to quote you here, you said, quote, the madness in this city must end. Can you unpack that for us? Yeah, God knows we have enough crime in New York City without importing crime and criminals. And with the poorest southern border, especially, we're also a target of terrorists worldwide.

There's two million people on the terrorist watch list. And of course, New York City is a number one target. It has been. and it was at 9-11, over 3,000 people were killed. So why would we allow people who are committing crime on a regular basis, who are not even citizens of the United States, who are here illegally, for the most part, after they commit a crime, why are we protecting them with the sanctuary city status?

It's insane. And we've seen some recent examples of this playing out to violent and tragic results. immigrants that were caught doing horrible things, rape, quickly released back on the streets, what are some of the sanctuary city policies that are particularly problematic that are really hurting the city? Well, there were four laws that were passed in the previous 20 or so years after 9-11 that prohibited NYPD or any city law enforcement agency from working with immigration and customs enforcement, better known as ICE. it cuts off any communications between NYPD and ICE.

And we didn't learn a lesser from 9-11 in New York City. We'll never learn. But the problem at 9-11 was we didn't have any communications between local, state, and city law enforcement. And that's how the 19 terrorists got through on 9-11. So we corrected that by forming Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Unfortunately, like I said, the New York City Council, over those 20 years, passed four laws that prohibit NYPD from even working with ICE unless the person is convicted and only of really felony charges or serious misdemeanors. But it doesn't go far enough because what they do is what they did on the alleged rapist, the recent one, Daniel Bonilla from Nicaragua, he was convicted. of sexual assault, but he plea bogged down from rape to sexual assault because the first victim

didn't want to testify. Now, we know that that should have red flagged, certainly NYPD to contact ICE, but NYPD says they were prohibited because he wasn't convicted of rape. So that's kind of crazy, isn't it, when you can get a plea bargain down to still sexual assault, and then we want to keep them in the United States. I don't get it. I think it makes everybody less safe, not only in New York City, but in the country. So sanctuary city laws go too far. They protect essentially only criminals, and they protect a small minority of criminals who are here illegally. That doesn't make any sense, especially given we have a very porous southern border. And we know that hundreds of terrorists are getting through because of the lack security at the

border. So I'm worried, you know, obviously the poor women that have been attacked or raped by this terrible person, like I said, allegedly raped by this Daniel Devon Bonilla. But let's also think about terrorists that are getting through that are going to target New York City. So I have a bill in front of the city council. It's not going to go anywhere because the speaker has already said that she doesn't want to even touch sanctuary city status. The mayor had a chance. to put it on the ballot. He created a charter commission a few months ago. We had hundreds of people that testified that we want the sanctuary city question on the ballot. And the mayor didn't push it. And neither did the city council. So it didn't get on the ballot. We had a good opportunity to

really rectify the sanctuary city laws or to at least update them to include some of these illegal migrants that are coming through. But we didn't do it. And now, The only thing I think that will wake people up is unfortunately another 9-11. But many, many people are going to be attacked on the streets of New York City because essentially, I think many of the people that came here were let out of their jails in their home countries. Now, you're a Democrat in a deep blue city, in a deep blue state, and you're speaking out against policies that were passed by Democrats. Has it been difficult to come forward and address this issue that in some ways could be seen. as a criticism of the Democratic Party at large? Not at all. I criticize the Democratic Party. I criticize the Republican Party when they're wrong.

The Democratic Party has been wrong about immigration. They've been wrong about sanctuary cities. They've been wrong on crime. I'm a conservative Democrat, as you can hear. So there's not many of us. There's two of us in the city council out of 51. There's not many in the Democratic Party. However, I will continue to voice what I feel is, the right thing to do. My loyalty is not to the Democratic Party or any party, for that matter. My loyalty is to the United States of America and obviously to New York City. Are you seeing some hearts and minds change within your party over the last few months with this series of really horrific headlines that we've seen?

I haven't seen it from leadership in a Democratic Party, but I have seen it from constituents or people in New York City that constantly communicate with me saying, you're right. I wish somebody, more people would speak out in the Democratic Party about this. Unfortunately, does not that many. Everybody falls in line and their constituents be damned because they feel, some Democrats even come up to me, some elected officials and say, you know, I agree with you, but I can't say that. Because they want to get reelected or they want the party's endorsement. I don't care about that. I never did care about it. My constituents elect me and my constituents, for the most part, agree with me. Now, we're increasingly hearing the first.

that every state's now a border state, that every city is a border city, and nowhere has it been more true than in New York. Is this a truly nationwide issue, or is it more specific to New York? Well, it's both. It's certainly a national issue. But in New York, we've always been attracting people from all of the world. And since we made the sanctuary city laws, we welcome them. And I never did. I said, no, you should do things the right way, get in line, do things legally. I mean, we had things in front of the city council that, you know, gave undocumented driver's license. I don't agree with that. And what's New York City has become is we now have thousands of scooters, illegal scooters with no registration, no license played, no insurance.

And they've flooded our city with these scooters and e-bikes. It's very dangerous now to walk the streets of New York City. You've got to look all different ways and even up because you don't know what's coming at you across. crossing the street. They can come from behind. They can come from the sidewalk, but we're getting people struck. And it looks like it's becoming a third world city. And that's alarming for me. To somebody that grew up in New York City in the 50s, and even at the highest crime rates of the late 70s and 80s, we had many more murders, but I feel now New York City is less safe because you could get attacked from every different direction and you could get struck by all these different

vehicles that are illegal and also people who don't fear with bail reform that was passed by the state, you have to really work hard to get locked up because the judges and the courts are looking the other way. So, I mean, we have repeat offenders that have committed 40, 50, 60 crimes and they're just walking the streets. This is why our subways are less safe. This is why our streets are less safe. So I'm for getting Lauren Oder back in New York City and certainly a strong southern border. And what about your perspective on Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg? He's a Soros-funded DA and very soft on crime. Has he helped or hurt the situation in the city? Oh, it definitely hurts. When you have the sanctuary city policies, then you have the state bail reform, which if you looked at crime 17 years prior to,

2019, when the state bail reform kicked in, we had 17 straight years of dropping crime. Once 2019 came and the bail reform laws came in, you know, crime started to go up again. So I feel we're going back to the decade of the 80s in New York City. But again, it's more pronounced because people like Bragg, because not only do the criminals have Bragg on their side, but they have the sanctuary city laws and they also have the state bail reform laws. So, So like I said, very few people are going to jail for crimes and certainly not property theft. You can commit 10 burglaries in New York City and not go to jail. And that's what some of the precinct commanders are telling me.

They're saying, you know, we keep locking people up for stolen cars or burglary and they're out on the street next day and we're locking them up again. And then they get out again. So it's a revolving door. It's really, we have to change the laws. and people have to start electing on every level, the city, state, and federal government, you know, elected officials that are going to uphold law and order. It seems simple, doesn't it?

It seems common sense. It does. Now, we've done some reports in the past looking into the role that nonprofits play in enabling and encouraging in many ways illegal immigration. Have you seen any of that in the New York area? We've seen it. They're profiting, these not-for-profits. so-called not-for-profits, are making millions of dollars, especially on the migrant crisis. I think our bill is now $4 billion, destined to go up to $12 billion.

We can't sustain that and have a livable city because our taxes keep going up. Everything's going up. And the city is secretly raising taxes for things like our water bills are going up, our electric bills, our gas bills. As you know, inflation is skyrocketing, especially in some part. of the city and certainly the United States. So things are not getting better. We need to get a handle on it.

We need to hold our elected officials accountable. And that's not happening. More people have to go out to vote and really get involved in public discourse. Because really, New York City, you know, I can't believe the state that we're in. And certainly my district, people are very upset because it's mayhem on our streets in so many different ways. Final question. What do you think it's going to take for people to get active to actually change the policies and the approach from your city and state? Well, I see people, you know, again, I'm trying to get people to register the boat. And that's the most important thing.

People have to register. But if people didn't wake up yet with all the things that have been happening in our country and city, then they'll never wake up. On the sanctuary city aspect, I think the only thing that will wake New Yorkers up, especially the leadership, is another 9-11, a terrorist attack. Maybe that will wake them up. I remember after 9-11, the city and country came together. We were all, you know, really pulling in the same direction. Now, again, 20 odd years after that, we've forgotten many of the lessons that we've learned. So I think it'll take something like that, unfortunately. But, you know, we've had hundreds of killings around the country. by illegal aliens, and that doesn't seem to wake many people up. I think people have to really

get back to caring about what's important to them. Obviously, their families, keeping their families safe, a growing economy, and certainly laws that lock people up who commit crimes, and we've gotten away from that. Well, Councilman, thank you so much for talking with us. Thank you. That was New York City Councilman Bob Holden, and this has been a Sunday edition of Morning Wire. Hey guys, producer Brandon here. Balance of Nature is my go-to source for whole-food ingredients. Balance of Nature takes fruits and vegetables.

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