By: Mario Mancini

Gov. Kathy Hochul used a Martin Luther King Jr. Day church service in Harlem to blend hymn lyrics, immigration politics, and generous praise for Manhattan’s district attorney — all while insisting she wasn’t being political, according to remarks as the New York Post reported.

Speaking Sunday from the pulpit of the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church, Hochul addressed a congregation of more than 1,000 worshippers during a service honoring Dr. King. The governor opened by invoking the hymn “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” but quickly pivoted into a broad critique of federal immigration enforcement, drawing an uneasy comparison between the Black American civil rights struggle and illegal immigration concerns, as the New York Post reported.

“I never thought I would see what is happening to our country,” Hochul told the crowd inside the 200-year-old church on West 138th Street. Referencing the hymn, she spoke of “struggles” before shifting to what she described as widespread fear among undocumented immigrants.

“Today, we have people struggling because they’re in fear,” Hochul said, claiming some are “too afraid to go to church because an ICE agent may take them out of this place and take them to a detention center,” according to the Post. She warned of families being separated, calling it emblematic of “what is happening in America today.”

Hochul went on to tout her administration’s position limiting federal immigration enforcement in sensitive locations. As the New York Post reported, she declared that ICE agents should not be allowed to enter churches, hospitals, schools, or daycare centers without a judicial warrant — framing the policy as a defense of “sacred spaces.”

“They cannot violate this sacred space,” she said. “We are not surrendering our rights. And we’re not going backwards. Not now. Not ever.”

Despite insisting before and during her remarks that she was not there to “get political,” Hochul then turned her attention to praising Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg — momentarily even misstating his title. As the New York Post reported, the governor first referred to Bragg as the attorney general before correcting herself.

“We also have another fighter to keep people safe and that is our Attorney General — I’m sorry, our District Attorney Alvin Bragg,” Hochul said. She then speculated aloud that Bragg could one day become attorney general, or even replace the “occupant of the White House,” a pointed aside reflecting her well-known opposition to former President Donald Trump.

The compliments continued. Hochul credited Bragg as a “great partner” in shaping public safety policy and claimed crime has dropped to “record lows,” particularly in Manhattan — a statement that raised eyebrows among critics who argue New Yorkers’ lived experience tells a more complicated story.

“Crime is down,” Hochul said, adding that she gives Bragg “so much of the credit,” according to the Post.