New York Governor Kathy Hochul had a message for her constituents this Sunday: The subways are safer than ever. Taking to social media, she proudly announced that her March deployment of 750 National Guard troops had succeeded in reducing crime throughout New York City’s transit system.
“Crime is going down, and ridership is going up,” the Democratic governor declared. She then shared photos of herself alongside law enforcement officers in the subway system. Hochul’s posts highlighted the addition of security cameras and increased police presence. Indeed, it painted a picture of improved public safety under her leadership.
Just hours earlier, however, a very different scene had unfolded in New York’s subway system. What happened would expose the deadly consequences of Democratic sanctuary policies and failed border security.
Hochul’s Ill-Timed Celebration
At approximately 7:30 a.m. at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station, a sleeping woman had been deliberately set on fire and burned to death. The suspect, identified as Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, 33, wasn’t just any criminal. In fact, he was an illegal immigrant who had been deported under the Trump administration in June of 2018. However, he returned and allegedly commit an unthinkable act of violence.
“This is another example of an illegal alien killing an American citizen. It’s almost a daily occurrence now,” Tom Homan, President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming border czar, said in a blistering response on Fox & Friends. “Governor Hochul, shame on you. There’s nothing you can say that’s going to make this right in New York.”
Homan, who was appointed as border czar by Trump on November 11, 2023, later pointed directly to sanctuary policies that prevent local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.
“She supports sanctuary status in that state… she welcomed thousands of illegal aliens to her state,” he said of Governor Hochul. “She sent them to Buffalo and Syracuse. Murders occurred by illegal aliens in Buffalo and Syracuse.”
According to ICE spokesperson Jeff Carter, Zapeta-Calil had first entered the United States illegally in 2018. He was apprehended by Border Patrol in Sonoita, Arizona, and was deported on June 7, 2018. Yet America’s porous borders allowed him to return. He eventually made his way to New York City’s taxpayer-funded shelter system, where records show he stayed at a Days Inn hotel on 36th Street in April of 2023.
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), breaking ranks with fellow Democrats, criticized the “political establishment” for misleading Americans about public safety.
“In New York, dangerous people are allowed to freely roam the subway,” Torres stated. “Yet the political establishment insists on misleading the public with deceptive headlines.”
A Crisis Beyond The Subways
The tragedy comes amid an unprecedented border crisis that has seen over 7.4 million illegal immigrants encountered by Border Patrol since the start of fiscal year 2021, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. Even more alarming, at least 85,000 migrant children placed into federal custody are now unaccounted for, according to a February 2023 report by The New York Times.
“Under his guidance, under his leadership, first of all, it’s his policies that caused over half a million children being smuggled in this country, trafficked in this country and they lost track of 340,000 of them,” Homan said, directing his criticism at Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. “When his lips are moving, he is lying and he needs to be held accountable.”
Construction manager Alex Gureyev, who regularly uses the subway system, told the New York Post that the city is “going downhill a bit.” He added that muggings, killings, and shootings are “really common nowadays.”
As New Yorkers grapple with this latest tragedy, the incident serves as a stark reminder of how sanctuary policies and weak border enforcement can have deadly consequences for American citizens. With the 2024 election approaching, the contrast between current Democratic leadership and Trump’s proposed return to stricter immigration enforcement has never been more stark – or more relevant to public safety.
Key Takeaways:
- Democratic sanctuary policies enabled a preventable tragedy by shielding illegal migrants from deportation.
- Biden administration has lost track of 85,000 migrant children while limiting ICE enforcement.
- Gov. Hochul’s celebration of subway safety came hours before horrific murder exposed reality.
- Trump’s border czar highlights direct connection between open borders and public safety crisis.
Sources: Daily Caller, Breitbart, The New York Post, The Tampa Free Press, Fox News
