Weighing a run for governor, Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) distanced himself from previous left-leaning positions Tuesday — telling The Submit the border disaster had modified his view on immigration coverage.
Torres, in a 2022 endorsement questionnaire from the Jim Owles Liberal LGBT Democratic Membership, mentioned he backed mass amnesty for unlawful aliens, and a 12 months earlier had bashed a program facilitating collaboration between federal immigration authorities and native legislation enforcement.
However Torres mentioned he’d since pivoted, calling himself “pro-immigration and pro-border safety” in an interview Tuesday.
“If the federal authorities is trying to take away violent criminals,” Torres mentioned, “the state ought to cooperate.”
However the congressman mentioned it might be “inhumane” to deport undocumented migrants who’ve been right here for years. And he mentioned he helps town’s Well being + Hospitals program offering medical care to undocumented or unlawful migrants.
Within the endorsement questionnaire, Torres was requested: “What proposals will you advocate for the safety of immigrants and additional New York as a Sanctuary Metropolis?”
“I’m in favor of: A) Granting citizenship to all undocumented immigrants the US; and B) Granting healthcare to all undocumented immigrants,” his reply states.
And in a March 2021 press launch, Torres issued a letter recommending the defunding of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s 287(g) program, claiming it “undermines belief in legislation enforcement inside immigrant communities.”
Within the endorsement questionnaire on the Jim Owles group’s web site, Torres had additionally backed decriminalizing prostitution and supporting government-supervised “secure consumption” websites the place addicts can shoot up heroin.
He additionally answered “sure” on whether or not he would “refuse cash from police and corrections unions.”
Torres claimed Tuesday that his solutions have been “mischaracterized,” and {that a} marketing campaign staffer, not him, had crammed out the questionnaire.
Nonetheless, he mentioned, “I take full accountability.”
“It doesn’t replicate the views I had then and definitely doesn’t replicate the views I’ve now,” he mentioned.
Torres disputed the reply within the questionnaire claiming he wouldn’t settle for marketing campaign donations from police officer unions, saying he welcomes their assist.
He pointed to feedback he made in 2022, reported by The Submit, saying the defund the police motion is “useless” in New York Metropolis “and good riddance.”
The congressman — who has brazenly criticized Gov. Kathy Hochul as ineffective — additionally mentioned he opposes secure consumption websites for addicts.
Earlier this 12 months, he urged metropolis officers to take instant motion in opposition to an open-air drug market on East 149th Road within the South Bronx.
A marketing campaign spokesperson for Hochul — who may face off in opposition to Torres in a Democratic main in 2026 – accused Torres of being a “hypocrite.”
“Sadly for his constituents, Ritchie Torres has confirmed to be a pandering hypocrite who’s out of contact with New Yorkers on vital points like immigration and public security,” mentioned Hochul rep Jen Goodman.
“Whereas Governor Hochul introduced sweeping motion at present to crack down on retail theft and shield our communities, the congressman spent one other day grandstanding. Good luck making an attempt to promote this extremist file to the folks of New York.”
Allen Roskoff, president of the Jim Owles membership, mentioned Torres’ response to his 2022 questionnaire speaks for itself.
“We ship candidates the questionnaire and it’s returned. We publish it on our web site. Finish of story,” Roskoff mentioned.
Torres criticized Roskoff because the “final hypocrite.”
“He pressures elected officers to forego actual property contributions whereas personally residing in luxurious housing developed by the Metropolis’s largest actual property developer,” Tores mentioned.
“He advocates for defunding the police on the expense of communities of coloration whereas having fun with non-public safety in his personal luxurious dwelling. The folks of New York are sick and uninterested in far-left luxurious believers like Allen-Roskoff and their ivory-towered bullshit. “
Roskoff mentioned Torres “sounded hysterical.”
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