Nassau exec Bruce Blakeman pledges to work with ICE, celebrates that county is ‘not a sanctuary’
Nassau’s top elected official celebrated the county’s anti-”sanctuary” status at his State of the County Wednesday – doubling down on his promise to work with federal immigration officials.
Republican Bruce Blakeman said Nassau is the first county in the US to have a federal cooperation agreement with ICE, while he touted the county’s bans on public mask wearing and transgender athletes in women’s sports.
“One of my first executive orders as county executive was to declare that Nassau County is not a sanctuary county,” said Blakeman, after pledging to propose a budget that would keep taxes flat for the fourth year in a row.
“To that end, we are working with ICE and our other federal law enforcement partners to remove or incarcerate those who commit criminal acts and live in the US illegally,” he added in the speech, at the chambers of the county legislature in Mineola. “We will work with the Trump Administration to stop the flow of fentanyl coming from Mexico and China into our neighborhoods.”
Blakeman said he signed a law to make it “illegal for criminals and antisemites to wear masks in public.”
“These criminals and cowards are not welcome in Nassau County,” he said, according to the remarks.
He recounted his move to become the first county to ban biological males from women’s sports, a move that has sparked legal challenges.
“We will not allow our girls to be bullied into unsafe and unfair competition and have their privacy violated,” he said. “In Nassau, boys play with boys, and girls play with girls.”
Blakeman also announced a plan to hire more police officers and over $500,000 in investments this year so far for local fire districts — saying his administration’s policies are responsible for making Nassau “the safest in America and the most desirable to live in New York State.”
“I have hired over 300 new police officers and corrections officers in the last three years, and this year we will be hiring more,” Blakeman said, declaring the State of the County as strong and adding “our future has never been brighter.”
Aside from strengthening law enforcement, Blakeman says his administration has encouraged economic development and job creation that has led Nassau to be “one of the most prosperous economies” in the country — and hopefully home to a new casino and state of the art hospital the county is hoping will lead to an economic boom.
But county Legislator Seth Koslow — who is running against Blakeman for his seat come November — blasted Blakeman in a Democratic rebuttal to the speech.
Koslow attacked Blakeman’s administration as full of “mismanagement, political games, and broken promises.”
He came after a slew of Blakeman’s policies, including his program to deputize gun-licensed property owners for county emergencies — calling it “a reckless militia.”
“Nassau County doesn’t want, and doesn’t need, armed civilians patrolling our streets. We already have the best trained and most professional police officers in America,” Koslow, a former prosecutor, said.
The Democrat said that despite Blakeman’s public claims of not raising taxes for residents and supporting first responders, his actions “betray them behind closed doors.”
He points to held up dollars for first responders in Democratic districts, excessive spending on private lawyers, and says Blakeman has actually raised taxes.
“It’s shameful, it’s dangerous, and it’s un-American,” Koslow said about Blakeman’s actions as county executive. “I believe that our government can, and must, do better, for everyday people. We deserve better.”
