New York Republican Compares Sanctuary States to Confederacy: 'We Had a Civil War' Over Federal Law

New York's last Republican governor said this week that sanctuary jurisdictions are reminiscent of the Confederate states that balked at federal law and waged war against the Union.

Former Governor George Pataki was speaking with businessman and 2013 New York GOP mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis on 77WABC radio when he was asked about the state of the Big Apple in this regard.

“Right now I'm worried and people are worried, and rightly so. But it comes down to a question of leadership. We've had worse times in the past. I remember the '60s and then the early '60s 80. And other things have improved immeasurably,” Pataki said.

“And it's about having the right people with the right policies to run the city, run the state and run the country. I think we're going to have the right policies in Washington. Now we just need having the right leaders to do the right thing in Albany and New York.”

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President Trump speaks with former New York GOP Governor George E. Pataki. (Reuters)

Catismatidis said Trump had “put his foot down” against sanctuary policies, and joked that he now had a “very big shoe” given his landslide election victory.

Pataki agrees, adding that if the United States is to be founded on the rule of law, it must apply equally everywhere.

“Cities or states that can claim that federal rules don't apply to them are simply violating the Constitution and violating our freedom… We've had a civil war over this,” he said. “And it became clear that under the Constitution, every city, every state must follow the law of this land.”

Before the war-triggered attack on Fort Sumter, South Carolina, President James Buchanan, a Pennsylvania Democrat, criticized Republican abolitionists and deplored his home state's opposition to the Fugitive Slave Law.

After Illinois Republican Abraham Lincoln's victory in 1860, southern states began to secede, which Buchanan opposed, although he believed that a military response was not the right option. The election of Lincoln, who opposed the expansion of slavery into federal territories, alarmed the Deep South states, with South Carolina leading the way by declaring its secession from the Union on December 20, 1860 .

Pataki added that the nation's largest city opposes federal authorities on this matter, as do Los Angeles and other cities.

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Republican mayoral candidate and billionaire John Catsimatidis speaks at a press conference in 2013. (Getty Images)

“Trump needs to force them to follow the law or cut off all federal funding. And I think that would be a very positive step in bringing America together and moving us forward,” he said.

The two discussed how the New York City Council adopted a sanctuary city policy and whether the state or federal government could intervene against the policy.

“I think [Mayor Eric] Adams can accompany [Trump intervention]” predicted Pataki, while other observers saw the mayor as critical of sanctuary city policies, but hamstrung by the city council's Democratic majority (45 votes to 6).

The former governor said he was optimistic about the new year and said Trump needed to “radically reform” Washington instead of “tinkering.”[ing] on the edges.”

He pointed out that Trump had limits, in that he could not legally control New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg or other far-left officials.

Current Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat who has sometimes clashed with the MAGA wing of the Republican Party, once vehemently opposed another predecessor's successful attempt to make illegal immigrants eligible for obtaining a driving license.

In 2007, Hochul opposed the policies of Governor Eliot Spitzer while serving as clerk of Erie County – which includes Buffalo.

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Then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, left, and Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul during a cabinet meeting at the Capitol. (PA)

However, when she became governor following Andrew Cuomo's resignation, she changed course.

In November, Hochul said she would be the “first” to call Immigration & Customs Enforcement to help the federal government capture migrants or illegal immigrants accused of another crime and “get them out of here “.

However, she said during her speech in Queens that she supports helping otherwise law-abiding migrants find work in New York.

Trump's choice for “border czar,” Tom Homan, is notably from the Watertown area and has condemned current policies in his home state.