New York Attorney General Letitia James appeared at a gun-safety press conference Thursday in Manhattan. When a reporter asked a question about immigration and gun charges, the officials present did not answer.
According to accounts of the event, a New York Post reporter asked James, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez whether any of them had ordered prosecutors to downgrade gun charges so that illegal immigrants could stay in the United States. The accounts say they did not answer. The question referred to a House Judiciary Committee Republican report, released Monday, that accuses New York City prosecutors of shaping plea deals around immigration consequences.
The exchange matters because the report's claims are allegations from a partisan committee, and the three officials have not been shown to have addressed them. Nothing in the coverage reviewed shows that anyone ordered gun charges reduced.
The Question and the Silence
The reporter was Kevin Sheehan of the Post, according to a post on X from RedWave Press. Hot Air, relaying the Post's account, reported that Sheehan asked:
"Did any of you order prosecutors to downgrade gun charges to keep illegal immigrants in the US…"
Hot Air, quoting the Post, said the officials "stared blank-faced" when asked. The Western Journal also covered the episode, and its headline says James "refuses" to say. The accounts reviewed describe silence, not a refusal, and the reason for it is not known. Zetik wrote that the officials appeared "caught off guard."
A note of caution belongs here. This story is built from search-result snippets of published coverage, not from a full transcript, video or the original Post article. The wording of the quotes above comes from those excerpts and has not been checked against the originals.
What the House Report Alleges
The report, titled "New York City: The Dangerous Consequences of Sanctuary Policies," runs 22 pages and was released Monday, Oct. 26, by Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee. It names five New York City district attorneys.
Among its claims, as summarized by Zetik: Katz's office in Queens used an "Immigration Specialist," and the Bronx district attorney's office trained staff in "Immigration-Conscious Plea Bargaining." Zetik and Fox News both describe a 2022 memo from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg directing prosecutors to seek dispositions that avoid deportation consequences for misdemeanors and non-carceral felonies. Hot Air reported that the report says Bragg acknowledged that considering likely immigration consequences is "appropriate" for foreign nationals.
Readers should keep the limits of the report in view. It is a product of the committee's Republican majority, and its claims are allegations, not findings by a court. The material described in coverage concerns noncitizen defendants and charge reductions in general. Nothing seen so far shows that any official specifically ordered gun charges reduced, which was the premise of the reporter's question. Zetik describes the evidence on gun and violent cases as "more mixed."
Who Has Responded, and Who Has Not
Katz later denied leniency in weapons cases, according to Zetik, saying her office charges illegal-firearm cases at the highest level supported by law. That response has surfaced secondhand, and the office's full statement was not available for review.
No public response from James, Gonzalez or Bragg's office turned up in the coverage reviewed for this story. It is also not clear whether James's office was asked for comment after the press conference.
Fox News linked its coverage to a separate story about a Justice Department investigation into what Fox called a Soros-backed district attorney accused of shielding illegal immigrants. That story concerns a different prosecutor, and the notes do not connect it to the officials in New York.
What Comes Next
The next word belongs to the officials who stayed quiet Thursday. Statements from James, Gonzalez and Bragg's office would help settle whether there is anything behind the gun-charge question or whether the report's broader complaints about plea bargaining are the whole story. Follow-up from the House Judiciary Committee and the Justice Department inquiry Fox mentioned are worth watching.
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