Blakeman, asked at the governor debate about ICE's tactics, says the shooting "never would have happened but for your sanctuary policy"
Bruce BlakemanNassau County Executive and Republican nominee for governor of New York, at the governor debate on Spectrum News NY1
At the October 13 governor debate, Bruce Blakeman was asked whether he was comfortable with ICE's reported cuts to training, masked agents and long guns in a crowded urban environment. He asked what the man was doing in New York in the first place, called him a gangbanger, and said Hochul's sanctuary policies were why the shooting happened.
“the question that New Yorkers have to ask is what was this guy doing in New York in the first place? It's because Kathy Hochul has made us a sanctuary state. ... Kathy Hochul has taken that ability away from us. That's why things like this happen. ... it never would have happened but for your sanctuary policy.”
Original video

Where this statement fits
Was ICE justified in shooting a man in a car in Marble Hill?
On October 8, 2026, an ICE officer shot a man in a car near Marble Hill Avenue and West 225th Street in Marble Hill, a neighborhood the NYPD placed in the Bronx and ABC News and The Intercept placed in upper Manhattan. DHS said ICE officers were conducting a targeted operation in the Bronx to arrest a man from the Dominican Republic with a prior grand larceny conviction and multiple prior arrests, and that an officer discharged his weapon during the incident. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said early reports indicated agents surrounded the man and his 5-year-old child in the car before firing multiple rounds. The NYPD said it was not involved and that the man was conscious at a hospital. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch later said evidence at the scene indicates at least one ICE agent discharged seven rounds, striking the driver in the neck. At a press conference on October 9, ICE's Marcos Charles said the man accelerated into two ICE vehicles and toward other officers, and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the agents feared for their lives. A federal judge later barred ICE from removing the man from the country or moving him outside New York and New Jersey while his habeas corpus petition proceeds.
Source and context
Original video
About this source
Full broadcast of the only debate between Gov. Kathy Hochul and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman in the 2026 New York governor race; the first segment addressed the Marble Hill shooting.
Before the quotation
The moderator said reports suggest ICE has cut its training time, lowered its hiring standards and deployed masked agents with long guns in a crowded urban environment, and asked Blakeman whether he was comfortable with that. Blakeman first said Hochul had appealed to ICE to let the man out.
After the quotation
Between his answer and his rebuttal, Hochul said he had refused to condemn ICE. In the rest of his rebuttal, Blakeman said Nassau County had no incidents while it could cooperate with ICE and that the shooting happened because of Hochul.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is whether the ICE officer was justified in shooting the man in the car. Asked whether he was comfortable with ICE's tactics in this case, Blakeman says "That's why things like this happen" about state limits on cooperation with ICE and tells Hochul it "never would have happened but for your sanctuary policy", placing responsibility for the shooting on the state and the man rather than the agents, so we labeled it Defended or excused. The closest competing label is Explicitly stayed out, since he never says whether he is comfortable with the tactics; it loses because he gives an account that excuses the agents.
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More from this case
Read the full caseHochul, at the governor debate, says of the shooting "That's not how you conduct yourself. ICE is out of control."
“he'd be fine if ICE agents shoot into cars, shoot guns into vehicles not knowing who's inside, and could have killed a five-year-old child ... That's not how you conduct yourself. ICE is out of control.”Read statement
Former ICE official Scott Mechkowski says whether the man was "using his car as a weapon" decides the case
“A vehicle driven at an officer is a deadly weapon, and I taught officers to treat it that way. ... DHS hasn’t yet said what that officer saw in that moment. That question decides this case: was the man behind the wheel using his car as a weapon against an officer? The footage will answer it.”Read statement
Eli Steele says "The investigations will decide whether the shooting was lawful"
“The investigations will decide whether the shooting was lawful, and due process, which protects all individuals within this country, including those who are not citizens. ... So let the courts judge the officer who fired, and let them judge Oscar Belgal too.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Blakeman, asked at the governor debate about ICE's tactics, says the shooting "never would have happened but for your sanctuary policy"". First published: 2026-10-15. Last updated: 2026-10-15. https://disputeindex.com/events/5731-at-the-october-13-governor-debate-bruce-blakeman