New York Republican compares sanctuary state to Confederacy: ‘We had a Civil War over federal law’

New York’s last Republican governor said this week that sanctuary jurisdictions are reminiscent of Confederate states that balked at federal law and waged war on the Union.

Former Gov. George Pataki was asked about the state of New York in this regard while speaking with businessman and 2013 New York City Republican mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis on 77WABC radio .

“Now, I’m worried, people are worried, and rightly so. But it comes down to leadership. We’ve been through worse times in the past. I remember back in the ’60s, and then the early ’80s. And things became Infinitely better,” Pataky said.

“At the end of the day, it’s about getting the right people with the right policies to run the city, run the state and the country. I think we’re going to have the right policies in Washington. Now we just have to get the right leadership to do things in Albany and New York City, which is the right thing to do.

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Katismatidis said Trump had “firmly opposed” asylum policies and joked that he now had “very large shoes” given his landslide election victory.

Pataki agreed, adding that if America is to be founded on the rule of law, then the rule of law should apply equally everywhere.

“Cities or states that pretend federal rules don’t apply to them are simply violating the Constitution and infringing on our freedoms… and we have a civil war over it,” he said. “And, obviously, under the Constitution, every city, every state has to abide by the laws of this country.”

Before the attack on Fort Sumter in South Carolina that sparked the war, Pennsylvania Democratic President James Buchanan criticized Republican abolitionists and expressed regret for his home state’s opposition to the Fugitive Slave Act.

When southern states began to secede from the Union following the victory of Illinois Republican Abraham Lincoln in 1860, Buchanan opposed the move while believing a military response was the wrong choice. Lincoln opposed the expansion of slavery into federal territories, and his election shocked states in the Deep South. South Carolina was the first to secede from the Union on December 20, 1860.

Pataky went on to say that the nation’s largest cities, as well as Los Angeles and others, are confronting the federal government on this.

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Billionaire John Catsimatidis, the Republican mayoral candidate, speaks at a 2013 news conference. (Getty Images)

“Trump has to make them comply with the law or cut off all federal funding. I think that would be a very positive step in bringing America together and moving us forward,” he said.

The two discuss how the New York City Council develops sanctuary city policy and whether the state or federal government might step in to oppose it.

“I think [Mayor Eric] Adams would probably agree [Trump intervention],” Pataky predicted, as other observers see the mayor as critical of sanctuary city policies but stymied by a City Council where Democrats hold a 45-6 majority.

The former governor said he’s optimistic about the new year and that Trump must “dramatically reform” Washington, not “fix it.”[ing] On the edge.

He noted that Trump does have limitations because he cannot legally control New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg or other far-left officials.

Current Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat who has often clashed with the MAGA wing of the Republican Party, vehemently opposed another predecessor’s success in making illegal immigrants eligible for driver’s licenses.

In 2007, while serving as clerk in Erie County, which includes Buffalo, Hochul balked at Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s policies.

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Then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (left) and Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul hold a cabinet meeting at the Capitol. (Associated Press)

However, she changed course when she became governor after Andrew Cuomo resigned.

In November, Hochul said she would be the first to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help the federal government catch immigrants accused of other crimes or illegal immigrants and “get them out of here.”

However, she insisted during a speech in Queens that she supports helping law-abiding immigrants find jobs in New York.

Trump’s pick for “border czar” Tom Homan, who is from the Watertown area, denounced current policies in his hometown.