Exclusive | Rep. Ritchie Torres distances himself from past lefty positions on immigration while eying run for NY governor

Weighing a run for governor, Bronx Rep.Ritchie Torres (D-NY) distanced himself from past left-leaning positions Tuesday — telling The Post the border crisis had changed his view on immigration policy.Torres, in a 2022 endorsement questionnaire from the Jim Owles Liberal LGBT Democratic Club, said he backed mass amnesty for illegal aliens, and a year earlier had bashed a program facilitating collaboration between federal immigration authorities and local law enforcement.But Torres said he’d since pivoted, calling himself “pro-immigration and pro-border security” in an interview Tuesday.“If the federal government is looking to remove violent criminals,” Torres said, “the state should cooperate.”But the congressman said it would be “inhumane” to deport undocumented migrants who’ve been here for years.

And he said he supports the city’s Health + Hospitals program providing medical care to undocumented or illegal migrants.In the endorsement questionnaire, Torres was asked: “What proposals will you advocate for the protection of immigrants and further New York as a Sanctuary City?” “I am in favor of: A) Granting citizenship to all undocumented immigrants the United States; and B) Granting healthcare to all undocumented immigrants,” his answer states.And in a March 2021 press release, Torres issued a letter recommending the defunding of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s 287(g) program, claiming it “undermines trust in law enforcement within immigrant communities.”  In the endorsement questionnaire on the Jim Owles group’s website, Torres had also backed decriminalizing prostitution and supporting government-supervised  “safe consumption” sites where addicts can shoot up heroin.He also answered “yes” on whether he would “refuse money from police and corrections unions.”Torres claimed Tuesday that his answers were “mischaracterized,” and that a campaign staffer, not him, had filled out the questionnaire.S...