BY: Keith S. Shikowitz, Editor in Chief/Investigative Reporter
On February 1, 2026, Congressman Mike Lawler held his first town hall of the year at Rockland Community College in the auditorium at the Cultural Arts Center. As expected, there were many detractors and haters in attendance.
As Lawler town halls go, this one was one of the calmer ones, although a number of people were asked to leave for disrupting the proceedings after they broke the rules that were explained to the attendees in writing on a board when they walked in, and twice more, once by the president of the college Doctor Mullany, and again by the emcee.
The major difference in the people being asked to leave is that no one had to be carried out. One person did have to have the sheriff come to his seat to escort him out after being warned twice by Lawler about his disruptions and cursing.
A statement by Tina Traster in the Rockland County Business Journal, that said Congressman Mike Lawler faced an angry rattled crowd… made it sound like all of the people there were angry and against Lawler. The only people there who were angry and rattled were those who were against Lawler because he was not giving them the answers they wanted to hear to the questions they asked. This is why, according to her headline on the story she wrote about this event he failed to satisfy the rattled audience. They tried to bait him into losing his cool. He did not bite. Even when they were yelling, booing, calling ICE murderers, calling him a liar and other names, he calmly answered questions and when the angry people got too loud, he told them he would wait until they were ready to hear what he was saying. Those who were pro Lawler were respectful and gave people and Lawler the chance to ask and answer questions.
To watch him handle the audience, you would see that he does not feel vulnerable in this election season. He does say that his seat is one of the 35 out of 435 that is contested but there was no indication of hesitation or nervousness in his voice or mannerisms.
“Well, thank you, Doctor Mullany, and thank you for allowing us to use your facility. Just before we go ahead and get started, I also wanted to go over a few rules to start. Everyone will have an equal chance to ask a question. I will be pulling tickets at random from the spinner that will be here, In just a short moment, questions will only be addressed by me as the moderator and the congressman for the person whose ticket is called at that time. Please stand up and move to the aisle and a staff member will come and find you. Only staff will be holding the microphone. Please also make sure to limit your question to one minute, please. There will be no flash photography, tripods, or camera stands. ”
Signs, whistles, noisemakers, or any kind such as bullhorns or megaphones were not allowed either. She reminded everyone to be respectful of the attendees, staff, the moderator, and our congressman. She said that the more decorum that they have, the more opportunity there will be to ask more questions. She then introduced Lawler. The first thing he did was ask everyone to stand for the pledge of allegiance. This was the first and last minute that everyone agreed.
“Well, again, thank you all for being here. As was mentioned, this is our 4th Rockland County Town Hall and my 13th overall since taking office in January of 2023 and look forward to a discussion tonight about the issues and trying to provide you with answers to your questions, and hopefully a respectful dialogue so that we can get through as many questions as possible. I am proud of the work that I’ve done in the 3 years that I have represented all of you in Congress. Since taking office with the hard and dedicated work of my staff, we’ve closed over 8000 constituent cases in just over 3 years. We’ve brought back over $40 million to individuals with money that they are due, whether it be from the IRS, whether it be from Social Security, whether it be veterans’ benefits, etc. That is the number one job to make sure that we are representing everybody, to make sure that we are responding to the needs of our constituents, and I’m proud of that work. I’m proud of the fact that I’ve been extremely accessible. I’ve attended thousands of events in district in my 3 years and will continue to do so because I think that is paramount to be present, to engage, even going into communities where they may not support me, may not vote for me, but you are equally part of the district. ”
He said that he was proud of what they have been able to accomplish legislatively. He pointed to the fact that he passed a lot of bills through the House that have become law on major issues from foreign policy to lifting the cap on salt which was my number one promise, and he was proud of the fact that they delivered. They got a 4x increase, a quadrupling of the SALT cap from $10,000 to $40,000, and it takes effect immediately.
“So, when you go to file your taxes this year. You’re going to see a massive tax cut. The average New Yorker, the average New Yorker will see a $4000 tax cut, in large measure because of the work that was done in the Working Families tax cut bill mind you, that is not for the billionaires. That is for the working-class, middle-class families all across this state and country. Whether you talk about no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, lifting the salt cap, doubling the standard deduction, expanding the child tax credit. These were all major wins that helped working class and middle-class families who have been suffocating under the cost of living here in New York State.
Brian B’s number was the first one called. He started the questioning with one about the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. He said, “After Renee Good was killed by federal agents, before any investigation was done, JD Vance called her a domestic terrorist. Christy Noem called her a domestic terrorist. Trump said she violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE officer. After Alex Pretti was killed, Christy Noem called him a domestic terrorist. Kash Patel suggested that he attacked federal agents. Greg Bovino stated that he wanted to massacre law enforcement. We know these are lies now.
Brian’s assertion that these are all lies seems to be refuted, in spite of Mayor Frey claiming that the officer in the Good incident was unharmed and walked away with only a hip injury that he might as well have gotten from closing the refrigerator door. The only problem with this is that the ICE officer had internal bleeding in the torso. This could only have happened if he was hit by the SUV Good was driving. She may not be a domestic terrorist, but she definitely hit that officer and giving him the reasonable belief that his life was in immediate danger of being snuffed out. That belief over any intention of Good, gave him the LEGAL right to shoot at her.
Additional refutation of Brian’s claims of lies is that in Pretti’s case, he had a previous altercation with ICE, he had voluntarily ran up to the scene where the officers were calmly trying to leave, as he spit on an agent and kicked out the tail light of the federal vehicle they were leaving the area in. Prior to that he had been yelling at them, daring them to pepper spray him, cursing at them and calling them names. In the incident in which he was killed, he had again VOLUNTARILY inserted himself into a situation between ICE and another person. A place he had no business being. He was not involved in that situation prior to his voluntarily getting involved. That intervention is what led to the officers to bring him to the ground. The video angles are not clear as to what happened which led up to shots being fired.
If Lawler was, as Traster claimed, walking a ginger balancing act along a tightrope where on one side the vulnerable politician is hoping to keep his seat in the November 2026 midterm elections, while at the same time maintaining good favor with regional and national Republicans, he would not be taking stances that go against what many Republicans feel about ICE. He is of the opinion that ICE should not be wearing masks, a highly debated situation in which many Republicans disagree with him on.
In the next video clip, you can see that Lawler is not acting like a vulnerable politician or walking on a tight rope. He is answering the question and in total control of the situation, in spite of the yelling and jeering
His basic question was “Should there be consequences for our federal government lying to justify the killing of American citizens? ”
Lawler confidently responded, “First, I appreciate your question. I think what happened in Minneapolis is tragic. I believe it was entirely preventable. I think a few things in relation to it. Number one, there needs to be a full and independent and transparent investigation with the cooperation of federal, state, and local officials.
Number 2, there needs to be reforms. Now, I look at that in twofold. One, there are reforms in terms of the way ICE has operated, and I can tell you throughout the course of the last year, a number of my colleagues and I have met with the administration and pushed back against things that they were going about executing the deportation. This is why if we want to get somewhere, you need to allow an actual investigation, OK?
He agreed that this is obviously a very complicated situation adding that the entirety of our immigration policy has been broken for 40 years. That’s what, right, and that’s what he said he’s working to actually do… fix it.
“If you look at, if you look at the situation in Minneapolis. Local and state law enforcement were expressly prohibited from cooperating with ICE. You may think that’s good, but here’s the problem. By being prohibited from cooperating with ICE, they were not engaged to do basic things like crowd control. When you have a protest, and you… no, it’s not a lie… (responding to someone calling that a lie) when you have protesters engaging directly with ICE agents. It creates a real crisis. This never should have happened. What I said from the very beginning was this was preventable. It was avoidable, and that is precisely why I am opposed to any effort to make Rockland County a sanctuary county. ” (to the applause of the Lawler supporters)
He asked how many of the people in the room wanted to make Rockland a sanctuary county? All of the anti – Lawler people raised their hands.
“Here’s, here’s the thing. I know we want to fancy ourselves an attorney, but here’s the thing. The fact is, that Westchester County has this exact law that is being proposed and in Westchester County they are not allowed to engage ICE or federal law enforcement for the purpose of immigration if somebody commits a state crime.
They’re not allowed. ” (a number of people yelled yes they are)
Unrattled, he continued, “The only way they are allowed to engage ICE is if there is a federal judicial warrant, That is it. For instance, when an individual commits a crime in Westchester County and it is a felony state crime. Westchester County is not allowed. ” (again, a number of people yelled yes they are)
And again, unperturbed Lawler stated, “No, they are not. Actually, understand the law, they are not. They are prohibited from doing so and this is the fundamental problem. Trying to prevent law enforcement from doing their jobs and engaging with other law enforcement agencies is wrong, and I will not support it. I will not support it in the least. ”
He explained that if we want to address the challenges facing this country when it comes to immigration, there are a number of things we need to do. Number 1, the border is effectively secure. Over the last 9 straight months, we have had net zero illegal border. He thought everybody would agree that that is a positive and that we should not want people coming into the country illegally.
“But some of you seem to be OK with it. By the way, how many of you would prefer we go back to how Joe Biden was engaging border security? A number of people cheered that.
A person I spoke with after the event ended said that was a very ridiculous response to that question. “I for one don’t want any more people coming into the country illegally. I am tired of AMERICAN CITIZENS being killed by people who should NEVER have been in this country in the first place. God forbid that one of their relatives or friends gets killed by a person here illegally. You’ll see how fast they change their tune on that topic.”
“Now, the third part of this… Listen, sir, this isn’t a back and forth, all right, so if you can’t control yourself, you’re welcome to leave. ” This was Lawler’s second warning to the person who was later carried out.
Again, unrattled and unperturbed, Lawler picked up where he left off. “The third part of this is to actually reform our immigration system. It has been broken for 40 years, OK. The last time immigration was reformed in the United States was 1986 and Ronald Reagan was president. I fundamentally believe That if you have been in this country 5, 10, 15, 20 years, and you have not committed a crime, and you are participating in the workforce, and your children or your grandchildren may be American citizens, we should create a legal pathway forward. That does not mean citizenship. But it does mean that they come out of the shadows and that they can participate in our economy and in our community without fear of being deported. That is something that I believe we can get bipartisan support for. ”
He pointed out that it’s why he’s been a co-lead on the Dignity Act for the last Congress and this Congress. There are over 30 bipartisan co-sponsors of this legislation because many of them do recognize there has to be a way to address some of the larger issues pertaining to immigration and the fact is that for 40 years, the trust has been broken. The border was not secure. You had people who were committing crimes. You have sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate, and you have an immigration system that isn’t working.
“My objective is to actually address all of this in a reasonable and responsible way and to allow the law to work.
If somebody comes into this country illegally as we proceed forward, they should not be coming into this country. That is why the president has effectively secured the border. If somebody has committed a crime here, they should be deported. They should not be staying here. ”
The next set of questions ranged from why the ballots from the 2020 election were being taken. Lawler didn’t agree with this action. He said that Biden won the 2020 election. To the Managed Care Organizations tax that was going t run out and how he was able to convince Dr. Oz of the importance of this money, by bringing him here to Rockland County and meeting with all of the healthcare CEO’s and with all the administrators of New York’s largest hospital systems, again calmly and confidently talking over the boos and yelling. The result was on Friday January 30, at 4:30, they released the rules and the regs for the NCO tax, and New York was extended from March 31st to December 31st, a nine-month extension that will bring roughly $1.2 billion back to the state to help our healthcare system.
Again, the anti-Lawler people were trying to interrupt and throw him off his game. He responded, “You don’t get that if you just scream and yell and say how evil the president is and how evil Dr. Oz is, you don’t actually get a result. And so to me, you have to be able to engage constructively. You have to be able to address the issue on the substance and the merit of it, and that’s what I’ve done and that’s what we did, and I’m proud of the fact that we were able to deliver on that. ”
A David L asked, “Out of all those people who have been deported, what percentage of them do you think were, either under indictment or convicted or fugitives in the criminal system? And the other question is, do you support an ICE detention facility in Orange County? ”
“From the estimates given by DHS, it’s roughly 70%. ” Again, they erupted in yelling and calling that information lies. Lawler plowed through it all continuing to answer. “Roughly 70% have either had a conviction or been engaged with the criminal justice system. With respect to the facility that’s being proposed in Chester and Orange County, no, I’m not in favor of that being there. But obviously when you’re dealing with the system, they’re going to need to go to a facility. So, the question is where, where would be the nearest facility for those being out of New York City or the region, so, but no, I would not be in favor of that. The local elected officials, the county executive Steve Newhouse has come out against it, and so I respect the views of the locals, though I don’t represent Orange County. ”
Blair S brought up President Trump’s conviction in Manhattan. “Congressman, you stated that you oppose absolute immunity because no official is above the law. If that’s the case, how do you reconcile that principle with supporting a president who has been convicted by a jury of his peers? Does a conviction not represent the very accountability you say you support?
“So, I said when that case was brought forth, that, that, that case was fundamentally absurd. No one. No one had ever been charged under that premise in that manner, and Alvin Bragg made clear that his intention was to charge the former president of the United States no matter what, and you look at the fact that his predecessor Cy Vance said no, he’s not going to bring that case because it was absurd. It was absurd. You’re talking about, you’re talking about 34 counts based on basically accounting. You’re talking about how it was actually registered from the standpoint of accounting. It was marked as legal fees and you’re saying that that’s a felony conviction. It was a misdemeanor that they elevated for the purpose of a felony, and ultimately from my vantage point, our elections should be decided by the American people, not by some attorney that wants to make a name for themselves or use our legal system for the purpose of taking away that right. ” The anti – Lawler crowd was not happy with that answer. “I mean you could boo, but the fact is with that conviction, he was still elected President of the United States. ”
From this point forward, a number of people, (to use the current vernacular for people leaving a place) self-deported from the auditorium shaking their heads with looks of disgust on their faces. Some were cursing Lawler as they left.
During the upcoming question and answer, the person who Lawler had warned twice before about his interrupting and cursing, did it again and this is when he was asked to leave. He refused as you will see and Janet L had the next question. “I have watched your comments on the current administration and your support for ICE and your inability to criticize ICE for murder and for kidnapping children. My question for you, what is your line? What is the line that you won’t cross? What will Trump do that you will say, that’s wrong? (to the cheers of the anti – Lawler crowd)
In the removal, of the first person it seems that two other people, later identified as Maureen Morrissey (co-founder of Fight Lawler) were also asked to leave. The reason for this is unknown at this time. One thing for sure, they were not happy about it. As you will see from Mr. Morrissey’s reaction.
After the fray, Lawler put it to the audience, “If you, if you actually want to have a constructive dialogue, just sit down. That If you just want to scream and yell for 2 hours, then scream and yell for 2 hours. ”
He continued on his answer. “As far as, as far as the president goes and his administration. I have spoken out where I disagree with them. I have voted in favor of legislation where I support what is being done. When there is an issue that is of concern, I speak out. Now, you may not, many of you don’t like the president. We all know that. We get that. Many of you think no matter what he does, he’s wrong. No matter what he does, he’s wrong in your mind, and that’s OK. That’s your right. That’s your prerogative. But guess what? More than half the country doesn’t agree with you that everything he does is wrong.”
He went on to discuss the actions in Venezuela and the impact on the world. And the importance of having an honest dialogue.
Issues like Greenland, Africa, the Panama Canal, NATO, Venezuelan oil and where the money is going to go from it, the strikes on the Iranian Nuclear Facilities, the removal of Maduro, and affordability as well as the possibility of Trump running for a third term which Lawler said he would not support and that President Trump knows that the Constitution doesn’t allow it and he said he’s not going to do it. He also pointed out that Trump likes to goad the opposition and get under their skin. These were the final issues that people were able to ask about before time ran out.
People want their elected representatives to be accessible to them. Lawler and his staff, from the time he was in the NYS Assembly to now have always been available to his constituents. “I personally have seen him interacting with people and helping them with problems with no regard to their political views or alignment. If people really want to have access to their representatives and get questions answered, then town halls like this one are the best way to do it. The thing that people who are against the particular representative fail to realize is that they are not going to get any answers if the keep screaming, interrupting and not letting the person talk. The more they do this, the fewer questions get asked. They are not always going to get the answer they want or like, but that doesn’t mean that the representative is skirting the question or not answering it.” Said one attendee who after seeing the vitriol and hatred in the room asked not to be identified.