Spanish-language video emerges with Blakeman backing guest worker program for migrants

ALBANY — An ally of Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is circulating a video offering a more nuanced stance on immigration than some of Blakeman’s more recent public statements.

Herberth Flores, executive director of the Nassau County Office of Hispanic Affairs, posted a video to Facebook in which Blakeman voices support for a guest worker program, with Blakeman’s comments dubbed over and translated into Spanish.

In it, Blakeman, the presumptive Republican nominee for governor, calls for a guest worker program for people who do not have legal status but have been in the country for a long time. He says those people need a path to citizenship and that, "We need the people in Washington to present common-sense solutions."

A spokeswoman for Blakeman’s campaign said the dubbed video was not authorized by the campaign and she learned of it after Newsday sent it to her. The video was posted to Flores’ personal Facebook page and does not appear to have gained much traction. It’s unclear where else the video may have been published.

When asked how Blakeman’s comments in the video squared with his position in support of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration enforcement, Blakeman’s campaign provided his 2023 comments to the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security on the migrant crisis.

In his written comments, Blakeman advocated for a guest worker program that allowed for immigrants without a criminal background to be eligible for employment.

As county executive and while campaigning for the governorship, Blakeman has embraced ICE’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants. Nassau County is one of 12 local governments in the state that signed a cooperation agreement with ICE. The county has 10 police officers dedicated to helping ICE.

According to a recent analysis by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, 73% of all immigrants detained by ICE as of Oct. 1, 2025, had no criminal conviction. Only 8% had a violent or property crime conviction.

In recent days, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s campaign circulated comments Blakeman has made in support of ICE’s deportation efforts in Nassau County and criticism of the protests against ICE in Minneapolis.

Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran Democratic strategist, said Blakeman’s support of a guest worker program was designed to keep him from being seen as an extremist on immigration.

"This is a perfect way to do it," Sheinkopf said. "It sounds compassionate, it sounds innovative, it's not harsh. And at a time when anything related to immigration sounds harsh and punitive, he's trying to make himself out to be much more conciliatory than the president, which is smart."