Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) today condemned the Cuomo administration’s recent announcement that more taxpayer-funded resources across a wide array of departments will be available to illegal immigrants in New York State. The announcement is another staple in Gov. Cuomo’s recent history of sparring with the federal government on a host of policy issues.

“While I believe it is always the best policy to keep families together, I am concerned about continual use of taxpayer-funded resources being dolled out by the Cuomo administration to individuals here illegally,” Hawley said. “Instead of state leaders engaging in useless political quarreling and grandstanding we should be using those resources to better empower Child Protective Services and the Department of Social Services to protect the needy and less fortunate children that have already suffered in our state.”

Gov. Cuomo has recently called himself “undocumented” in recent weeks and boasted about the success of his signature Liberty Defense Project, a multi-million dollar taxpayer-funded program, signed into law last year, which offers legal defense and counsel for illegals facing deportation.

“Our state agencies and departments are already working at full capacity to help law-abiding citizens and to think Gov. Cuomo is pushing them to the wayside to help illegals is deeply regrettable,” Hawley continued. “We need to end the billions of dollars in unnecessary expenses forced upon local governments so agencies working at the local level can realize more resources to care for our children. The priorities of this administration are extremely out of control and continue to endanger middle-class New York by the day.”