(The Center Square) — A New York Congresswoman has invited a NYPD officer who was attacked by a group of migrants in Times Square to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday to call attention to the White House’s “dangerous border policies.”
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, a Staten Island Republican, said she has invited NYPD Lt. Ben Kurian to the president’s major address in a protest over the Biden administration’s immigration policies “that have allowed millions of unvetted individuals to enter our country illegally.”
“Our NYPD officers are on the front line every single day working to keep our streets safe, and unfortunately now they are being forced to deal with hundreds of violent crimes being committed by those in our country illegally,” Malliotakis said in a statement.
“The horrifying video of Lt. Kurian and his fellow officer being attacked by a mob in Times Square was hard to watch, but it shed a light on just how difficult our officers’ jobs have become,” she said.
Kurian was one of two NYPD officers who was attacked by a group of migrants last month in Times Square, which was captured on video. The incident fueled national outrage and prompted New York City Mayor Eric Adams to set curfews at homeless shelters where tens of thousands of migrants are being housed.
The NYPD said the attack began after the police officers asked migrants who were blocking the sidewalk outside a city-run homeless shelter to disperse.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was widely criticized for releasing several suspects on bail, prompting criticism from Gov. Kathy Hochul and other fellow Democrats. Bragg later announced indictments against several of the attackers.
The incident added to tensions in New York, which is being ripped apart politically over the migrant issue as it grapples with the arrival of more than 170,000 asylum seekers over the past year.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and leaders of other southern border states have been bussing migrants to New York and other blue states in protest over the Biden administration’s border policies.
Biden condemned the attack on NYPD officers as “absolutely unacceptable” in a statement and said he was “outraged” by the incident and hoped the officers “make a swift recovery as this attack is investigated.”
Last week, Adams said the city’s sanctuary status should be changed to allow migrants charged with crimes to be turned over to federal immigration officials for deportation.