Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., faced off against Democrat opponent Cait Conley Wednesday night in a one-hour debate filled with interruptions and fiery accusations less than three weeks before Election Day. Lawler is vying for a third term representing New York's 17th Congressional District, a politically moderate area in the New York City suburbs that could decide the fate of who controls the House of Representatives for the final years of President Donald Trump's term. Lawler called out Conley for misrepresenting his voting record, Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act and her own stance on immigration enforcement.
Conley, meanwhile, tried to paint Lawler as a Trump acolyte who put the needs of Washington Republicans ahead of the people of his district. Their most heated clashes came on the immigration front, when the moderator referenced the recent shooting of an illegal immigrant by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents last week in New York City while the man's 5-year-old child was in the car.
DEM CANDIDATE CLEARS CROWDED FIELD TO FACE TRUMP-BACKED INCUMBENT IN NY "I believe that border security is national security and that we do need immigration enforcement to ensure that violent criminals and drug cartels and human traffickers and terrorist organizations aren't in our communities and that they are deported," Conley said. "But what we are seeing right now with the conduct of ICE is posing a public safety hazard. To your point, last week, they shot into a car where there was a 5-year-old child.
I'll tell you, as a law enforcement officer, you're not permitted to do that kind of stuff." NEW YORK GOVERNOR DEBATE HEATS UP AS BLAKEMAN, HOCHUL SPAR OVER TRUMP, SANCTUARY STATUS, ICE SHOOTING Lawler, however, pointed out the man has a lengthy criminal rap sheet and was seen by some as a danger to his community. He also argued the shooting would never have happened had local law enforcement not been barred from handing him over to ICE by New York's sanctuary laws. He said Conley "supports making New York a sanctuary state, prohibits cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration officials." LAWLER UNLOADS ON RASKIN AFTER FIERY IMMIGRATION HEARING: ‘GROW THE F--- UP’ Lawler later pivoted the discussion to Sheridan Gorman, the college student from his district who was killed while out with her friends near her campus in Chicago earlier this year.
The illegal immigrant accused of killing her was previously charged with shoplifting, but Chicago sanctuary laws prevent local law enforcement from handing him over to ICE. Conley called Gorman's death "an atrocious crime" while repeatedly pointing out it took place in Chicago. Lawler attempted to intervene multiple times to call it "preventable," to which an irate Conley responded, "Can I finish?" "And I do support federal agents and federal law enforcement, federal immigration enforcement, making sure that we deport violent citizens," she said.
DHS BOSS REVEALS OVAL OFFICE PLAN TO 'WITHHOLD FUNDING' FROM SANCTUARY CITIES AFTER AGGRESSIVE NEW YORK BUST Lawler then argued, however, that Conley's support of sanctuary policies runs counter to that. "If you think he should have been deported when he was arrested for shoplifting, he should have been turned over to ICE. Under the new law that you support, he will not be turned over to ICE, and he will be released under cashless bail," Lawler said.
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