Rep. Nick LaLota Blames NYC Sanctuary Policies for Migrant Crisis: ‘You Broke It, You Bought It!’

New York City’s increasing surge in illegal immigration is due to Democrat sanctuary measures, according to Long Island Republican Rep. Nick LaLota, who called for a return to Trump-era border policies, while asserting taxpayers “should not be forced to send one penny to NYC,” as he declared: “You broke it, you bought it!”

Blaming the Empire City’s failed sanctuary policies for having “helped cause” New York’s migrant crisis, the Republican lawmaker declared Long Island has “rejected” those policies and “should not be stuck with the financial, education and public safety costs of their self-created crisis.”

“You broke it, you bought it!” he added.

NYC's sanctuary policies have helped cause NYC's migrant crisis.

Long Island has rejected sanctuary policies and should not be stuck with the financial, education and public safety costs of their self-created crisis.

You broke it, you bought it! #NY01 pic.twitter.com/FaIa1EgjLv

— Congressman Nick LaLota (@RepLaLota) September 10, 2023

According to LaLota, who is a member of the Homeland Security Committee, the current migrant crisis facing New York City “is the result of poor policy choices.” 

In order to reverse course, he suggested, Democrats Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul should “repeal their sanctuary laws” while President Joe Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas should “secure the border and reinstate the Remain in Mexico policy.”

The Trump-era Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), commonly known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy, is an immigration law that requires the federal government to send migrants back to Mexico while their asylum hearings are pending. 

LaLota concluded by arguing that federal taxpayers “should not be forced to send one penny to NYC” and Long Island residents “should not be made to shoulder any financial, education or public safety burden until these conditions are met.”

Under President Trump, MPP effectively helped end Catch and Release at the southern border by requiring border crossers to stay in Mexico while awaiting immigration hearings in the United States.

Over 70 percent in the program who had their cases adjudicated as of June 2022 were deported after filing invalid asylum claims.

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Annonymous Venezuelan Migrant

However, President Biden opposes the policy, taking it through the federal courts to end its implementation, with his administration preferring a broad “Catch and Release” system which has released millions into U.S. communities over the past two and a half years.

Last month, LaLota led a letter to Hochul and Adams pushing back on reports the mayor sought to utilize sites throughout New York State to accommodate “unvetted” and “unlawful” migrants.

“Far-left New York City officials enacted sanctuary city policies, blocking local law enforcement from enforcing federal immigration law. Predictably, New York City has attracted tens of thousands of unvetted migrants— legal and illegal, adult and minor,” he stated.

“Fairness requires that those New York City officials, not suburban and rural counties who have rejected sanctuary city policies, incur the financial, public safety, and education costs with the predictable result of their failed policy choice,” he added.

In slightly over a year, New York City has seen over 100,000 migrants come through, with over 58,000 still under the city’s care. 

A recent poll from Siena College revealed that 82% of New Yorkers view the recent surge of migrants as a significant concern, with over half considering it an extremely serious issue.

Last week, a visibly frustrated Mayor Adams warned during a townhall on the Upper West Side that the arrival of 110,000 border crossers and illegal aliens since the spring of last year will lead to the destruction of New York City as waves of illegal immigration have continued unabated under President Biden’s watch.

WATCH: NYC Mayor Eric Adams: Migrant Crisis Will Destroy New York City

“Let me tell you something New Yorkers: Never in my life have I had a problem that I did not see an ending to. I don’t see an ending to this. I don’t see an ending to this. This issue will destroy New York City — destroy New York City. We’re getting 10,000 migrants a month,” the mayor said, adding that no New York City neighborhoods, from Staten Island to Queens, will be spared from illegal immigration.

“It’s going to come to your neighborhoods. All of us are going to be impacted by this,” he said. “I said it last year when we had 15,000 [and] I’m telling you now with 110,000. The city we knew, we’re about to lose.”

His remarks come as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has effectively cheered on illegal immigration to the region, suggesting repeatedly that it is a boon for employers who are looking to hire foreign workers.

Most recently, Hochul announced a workforce initiative to connect recently arrived border crossers and illegal aliens with employers.