Republican Senate challenger Mike Sapraicone talks immigration with NewsdayTV

WASHINGTON — New York Republican Senate candidate Mike Sapraicone urged a return to former President Donald Trump’s restrictive migration policies and backed deportations of migrants with criminal records as he discussed his campaign with NewsdayTV.

Sapraicone, who described himself as a pro-life conservative, also addressed another top issue in the 2024 election by saying he opposes a national ban on abortion and thinks it should be up to states to decide the legality of abortion.

Sapraicone, 68, of North Hills, a former NYPD detective and security firm owner who is making his first run for Congress, faces Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) as she seeks a third full term. Gillibrand declined an invitation to a Newsday debate with Sapraicone.

"This is a great opportunity, I think, for me, and a great opportunity for the state to see a little bit of bipartisan politics here," Sapraicone told Newsday columnist Joy Brown about his long-shot campaign. A Siena College Research Institute poll of New York Tuesday found he trails Gillibrand 31% to 57%.

Asked about immigration, a top Republican issue, Sapraicone said, "So what the problem is, we have no plan now. I mean, we had laws on the books before the 94 executive orders were changed back in 2021."

According to the nonaligned nonprofit Migration Policy Institute, President Joe Biden in his first year in office issued 296 immigration executive actions — 89 of which have undone or started to undo Trump administration actions. He has tightened the border this year.

Sapraicone also raised concern about the number of convicted criminals crossing the border. "We have over 14,000 convicted murderers who have come into this country, and over, I think, 15,000 convicted of sex abuse, rape and sex abuse," Sapraicone said.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement letter to Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Tex.) in September said 425,431 convicted noncitizen criminals are in the United States — 13,099 with homicide convictions here or in other counties and 15,811 with sexual assault convictions.

But officials later said that Biden inherited some 400,000 criminal noncitizens from previous administrations, that many of them are in federal, state or local jails, and that some cannot be deported because their home countries refuse to take them back or they might face torture or persecution.

Gillibrand voted for the Senate's bipartisan bill that significantly boosts the number of border protection and customs personnel, asylum officers and immigration judges. The bill failed after Trump opposed it and Sapraicone said he does not support that legislation.

In September, Gillibrand cosponsored a bipartisan bill to devote more federal resources to securing the border between the U.S. and Canada after attempted illegal crossings more than doubled.

Sapraicone said he does not support Trump’s plan for mass deportation of all immigrants without authorization, but he said he backs Trump for president.

"We need to stand strong with him. We may not always agree on everything that he has to say, but I can agree that I think we were in a better place three and a half years ago, economy wise and everything else wise than we are today," he said.

Yet he disagrees with Trump about the election, which he said he thinks will be run fairly. If elected, Sapraicone said he would vote to approve whoever is elected president.

Asked if he supports a ban on assault weapons in the wake of two assassination attempts on Trump, he said, "not necessarily." But he said he supports background checks and red-flag laws meant to disarm people with might harm themselves or others.

On next year’s renegotiation of many expiring provisions of the 2017 tax bill, he said he would support the removal of the $10,000 SALT cap.

Sapraicone said he stands with Israel in its war with Hamas. "I think we need to support our allies. They're our strongest allies by far in the Mideast," he said.

He also backs Ukraine’s two-year battle against Russia’s aggression. "I think we need to continue assistance again to show our strength," he said.

Senators serve six-year terms at a salary of $174,000 a year. Early voting in New York begins on Saturday, Oct. 26.