September 1, 2026
This morning during the Steuben County Legislature’s Public Safety And Corrections meeting, there were some fireworks between Hornell GOP Legislator Paul Van Caeseele and Corning Democrat Lawmaker Hilda Lando. While Van Caeseele was arguing that the Steuben County Democrats were not accomplishing anything by refusing to take funding in order to house ICE prisoners in the county jail, Hilda Lando said that everyone knows what will be accomplished. “We all know what it accomplishes, so don’t pretend that – “. At that point, Van Caeseele jumped in, to which Lando stated “I’m talking, I’m talking.” Van Caeseele quickly replied, “But you’re not saying anything.” Then Lando fired back, “Lets be respectful Paul.” Van Caeseele answered that he was being respectful. “Then shut your mouth,” Hilda exclaimed.
The Corning Democrat went on to say that she believed that if the county lawmakers allowed Steuben County Sheriff Jim Allard to join the other sheriffs in a lawsuit which challenges the constitutionality of Governor Hochul and State Attorney General Letitia James executive order about not working with ICE, that there would be retribution from Albany.
After the meeting was over, Van Caeseele issued the following statement: “THE POLITICAL LUNACY BEHIND THE TERMINATION OF THE 287(g) CONTRACTS. This issue was discussed today at the Public Safety Committee meeting, and I asked a simple question: What exactly does cutting the 287-G funding to Steuben County accomplish? The Sheriff has made it clear that he will continue cooperating with ICE to help keep our streets safe. So, if the Sheriff is going to continue working with ICE, then terminating the 287(g) contracts isn’t deterring the Sheriff or ICE from doing their jobs. What it does accomplish is taking federal funds that would have ultimately helped save Steuben County taxpayers money and sending those dollars back to the Trump administration, where they can be used to further advance the administration’s law enforcement agenda. So let me get this straight: the decision doesn’t stop the cooperation, doesn’t change the Sheriff’s position, and doesn’t stop ICE from doing its job. It simply costs Steuben County taxpayers money while returning those federal dollars to an administration whose policies many of the people opposing 287(g) strongly disagree with. That seems like a pretty strange way to accomplish your stated goals.
“Yet when I pressed for an answer to that very question today, I was scolded by Democrat Lando of Corning for demanding an explanation. We should all pay attention to how politicians—even at the local level—sometimes make decisions that appear less about accomplishing a practical goal and more about protecting their political positions. But hey, what do I know? i guess I’ll just add the federal reimbursement Steuben County would have received through 287(g) to the additional utility costs we’ve incurred because of the CLCPA, total it all up, and hand the bill to the Hochul supporters. That way, they can include it in their next ‘Thank you, Governor’ letter.” 🙄
