New York Governor Kathy Hochul lashed out at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for the death of a refugee from Burma after being released from a detention center, and for the arrest of a Columbia University student.
Hochul reiterated his claim that the director of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), under which ICE operates, Kristi Noem, “must resign.”
The Democratic governor indicated that she will meet with the wife and children of refugee Nurul Amin Shah Alam, almost blind and who did not speak English, whose body was found on a street in Buffalo, in the north of the state, five days after the Border Patrol left him in a cafeteria, on February 19, on a cold winter night, without telling his family that he would be released.
“It is chilling to know what happened to this person: in such a cold time, abandoned without resources, without hope of returning home,” he said.
Hochul indicated that they are consulting with the Attorney General’s Office on ways to find out what happened, because “we all want answers.”
“When our federal government decides to release someone, it has a responsibility to do so safely and with clear communication. That clearly did not happen here,” he insisted.
I’m relieved Ellie has been released.
Once again, the White House is being forced to correct its own failures.
Entering a student dorm under false pretenses is a gross abuse of power.
New York will act to ensure it never happens again. https://t.co/Cn6TQti8Ye
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) February 26, 2026
Likewise, he criticized the arrest last week of Azerbaijani student Ellie Aghayeva, in her university apartment, where ICE agents entered posing as police officers allegedly searching for a missing girl.
«These are federal agents acting out of control. It is un-American what is happening to our country right now. National Security failed here, it failed miserably, and leadership is essential,” he argued about what happened to Alam and the student.
Aghayeva was released the same day by order of Trump, after a meeting with the mayor of the New York city, Zohran Mamdani.
Hochul recalled that he has already called for Noem’s resignation following the murders of civilians in Minneapolis at the hands of ICE agents and that he has proposed laws to limit ICE intervention in New York, which are before the state legislature for consideration.
