Hochul suggests deporting men in attack on NYPD cops outside Times Square migrant shelter: 'Send them back'

NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – Gov. Kathy Hochul suggested that authorities deport the men involved in last weekend's caught-on-camera group attack on two NYPD officers outside a Times Square migrant shelter.

"Get them all and send them back," the governor told reporters Thursday. "We don't touch our police officers. We don't touch anybody."

The comments were a step up from Hochul's remarks the day before, when she said of deportation, "I think that’s actually something that should be looked at."

"I mean, if someone commits a crime against a police officer in the state of New York and they’re not here legally, it's definitely worth checking into," she said.

Meanwhile, City Hall said in a statement Thursday: "The men and women of the NYPD put their lives on the line every single day, working tirelessly to keep us and our streets safe. Violence -- of any kind, and no less against our officers -- is unacceptable and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

Saturday night's attack in front of a shelter at 220 West 42nd St. has become a flashpoint in the national debate over the migrant crisis.

Chaotic video shows a group of men ganging up on two NYPD officers who were trying to disperse the "disorderly group" around 8:30 p.m., police said.

The two officers—a lieutenant and a cop from the Midtown South Precinct—were pummeled and stomped on, video shows. They suffered minor injuries, including cuts to their face, and were treated at the scene.

As of Friday, seven men had been arrested in the attack, with five more still being sought, according to police.

It's unclear how many of the men are migrants seeking asylum. A police spokesperson told NBC News that all of the men arrested so far are migrants, and police have been actively searching migrant shelters for the remaining suspects.

"Some of them live in the migrant shelter, they appear to be migrants, obviously," NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said. "I don’t know when they got here. Some of them already have lengthy police records."

Sources told 1010 WINS that the arrested men are from shelters across the city and that some of them have been previously cited for crimes like grand larceny. One was wanted on an outstanding warrant, while another was linked to a robbery pattern, the sources said.

All of the men were released without bail following their arrests, and according to multiple reports , several of them provided bogus names to a faith-based charity to board buses to California after they were released. While they're due back in court later this month or in March, it's unclear how they'll be found after leaving the state. The NYPD said a bench warrant will be issued if they don't return for their upcoming court date.

"The individuals should be in jail right now, they should have never been released," said Patrick Hendry, the president of the Police Benevolent Association, the NYPD's largest union.

Chell expressed a similar sentiment saying, "this was bail eligible."

"Bail should have been set by the judge," the chief said. "Did the judge see the video?"

Those arrested included Yorman Reveron, 24, of Brooklyn; Darwin Andres Gomez-Izquiel, 19, of Mississippi; Wilson Juarez, 21, of Queens; Kelvin Servita Arocha, 19, of Brooklyn; and Yohenry Brito, 24, of Manhattan.

The Manhattan D.A. declined to prosecute a seventh man—a 21-year-old from Queens.

"We vigorously condemn assaults on police officers and prosecute those responsible," the D.A.'s office said. "The question here is whether the person arrested was even involved. At this time, there is not sufficient evidence that he is one of the people who committed this terrible act."

Immigration has become a major issue going into the 2024 presidential election, posing an issue for President Joe Biden, who quickly moved to roll back former President Donald Trump's immigration policies when he took office.

Biden has sounded increasingly like Trump recently, pressing Congress for asylum restrictions that would have been unthinkable when he took office. He's doing it under pressure not just from Republicans but from Democrats, with polls showing Americans across the ideological spectrum are growing more concerned about immigration amid a surge of asylum seekers from the southern border over the past two years.