SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WCAX) – The outgoing U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York is reflecting on her time as the region’s top prosecutor.
Carla Freedman was appointed by President Biden in 2021 as the acting U.S. attorney for the sprawling district that covers almost half of the Empire State.
She says during her tenure her office witnessed an explosion of cases relating to illegal crossings along the northern border, including human trafficking and smuggling.
She says she’s proud to have been able to secure convictions in those cases as well as getting additional federal legal assistance. “Just like Border Patrol doesn’t have enough agents, I didn’t have enough attorneys. So, to convince them that in the relationship with DHS, my office needed to be a priority. So, for the first time ever, one of the attorneys from DHS was assigned to my office,” Freedman said.
She also says it will likely be another 10 months before President Donald Trump’s pick for her replacement is confirmed by Congress.