Republicans attack Rep. Tom Suozzi over goal to legalize up to 10 million people

WASHINGTON — Video of Rep. Tom Suozzi telling a February audience his biggest political goal was to "legalize" up to 10 million people is fueling attacks from President Donald Trump’s campaign arm, Elon Musk, and others.

Suozzi, speaking to the Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island in Garden City, said: "My biggest desire, my biggest goal of what I want to accomplish in politics right now, is I want to legalize 7 or 8 or 9 or 10 million people right now so that they will not be subject to deportation."

In an interview Wednesday with Newsday, Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) said he was talking about creating a permanent legal work authorization for noncitizens who’ve been living in the country for 10 years, who have not committed a crime and who agree to pay a fine. That's part of what he says is his comprehensive immigration approach that includes tighter border security.

But his opponents labeled the statement as "mass amnesty." President Donald Trump’s campaign arm, TeamTrump, seized on the video footage circulating on social media the past week as exposing that Suozzi, in fact, "wants to grant mass amnesty to millions of illegal aliens." Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee also posted the video, saying Suozzi is pushing for "mass amnesty for criminal illegals."

Suozzi described the Republican characterization as "foolishness," and emphasized that he’s not calling for a pathway to citizenship.

He added, "I've spoken about this publicly to whoever will listen to me. This is nothing new. This is nothing that has been, you know, quote unquote, exposed."

During his special election return to Congress in 2024, Suozzi gained attention for his call for tighter border security as part of any broad immigration reform effort.

"I want to secure the border permanently. That's a very important part of this: secure the border permanently, fix the broken asylum system, and treat people like human beings," Suozzi said in the interview Wednesday.

David Sprintzen, 86, of Syosset, a member of the Ethical Humanist Society, who had invited Suozzi to address the organization on Feb. 1, said it was clear that Suozzi was not talking about mass amnesty. He said Suozzi's message was about ending "just taking people off the streets" in immigration enforcement sweeps, who aren't criminals, and "about basic decency."

The society no longer displays the speech on its social media.

The Republican seeking to unseat Suozzi in the Nov. 3  election, Michael LiPetri, pushed a different interpretation of Suozzi's remarks in a statement Wednesday. "Suozzi may play a moderate on TV, but his calls for mass amnesty for 10 million illegals is way too extreme and a slap in the face to every law-abiding New York taxpayer and LEGAL immigrant who works hard and plays by the rules," LiPetri said.

Suozzi offered in the interview that he plans to introduce an immigration reform bill of his own, with detailed proposals. But he did not give a timetable for doing so, and said it would not be announced without a Republican co-sponsor. He did not offer more details.

Passing a comprehensive immigration reform package, and addressing the millions of immigrants living in the U.S. without legal status, has vexed lawmakers for decades.

The last time Congress passed a major immigration package was in 1986 under President Ronald Reagan.

Subsequent bipartisan attempts have floundered, among them attempts by President George W. Bush in 2007 and President Barack Obama in 2013. President Joe Biden had proposed his own immigration reform plan on his first day in office in 2021, one that would offer an 8-year path to citizenship, but the plan failed to generate enough support in Congress.

Trump rode a hard-line immigration message to victory in 2016 and 2024, promising to seal the U.S. southern border with a massive wall and launch a mass deportation campaign.

Biden sought to undo parts of Trump’s immigration agenda when he took office, including halting construction of the border wall and extending the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program for those hailing from Haiti, El Salvador and other countries gripped by turmoil.

But border crossings soared and partisan divisions chafed under Biden, as an influx of Venezuelan nationals and Central Americans fleeing poverty and violence sought asylum.

New York City is estimated to have provided some level of temporary housing to 207,000 asylum seekers between 2022 and 2024, according to a July 2024 report by the New York City Comptroller’s office.

The influx of new arrivals in New York shaped the last congressional election as Suozzi and fellow Long Island Rep. Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre) staked out centrist positions — calling for increased border security while also pushing for a bipartisan immigration reform.

The back-and-forth between Suozzi and Republicans comes as state polling shows immigration remains a top issue for Long Island voters, but still ranks far behind the economy as the top issue for voters.

A Siena College/Newsday poll released in June found that immigration and crime were tied for second when Long Island respondents were asked to rank their top issues, with 11% of respondents saying they viewed immigration as their top issue, far behind the 55% who cited cost of living as their top issue.

Larry Levy, executive dean of Hofstra University’s National Center for Suburban Studies, said Long Island voters have "strongly divergent opinions," on immigration, but "right now most of the negativity is against President Trump and the Republican Party, for how ICE and other government agencies have handled roundups and deportations."