New York Attorney General Letitia James responded Saturday to a surprise announcement by President Donald Trump that he would delay mass arrests of migrant families, saying that while New Yorkers could “breathe a short sigh of relief,” the targeted migrants “should have never been placed in jeopardy by a president who is willing to rip families apart in order to score points with his base.”

“With news of a delay … New Yorkers can breathe a short sigh of relief,” James said in a statement issued Saturday evening. Still, she said, “these families come to this country yearning for the promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, so using them as pawns in a game of political chess is immoral and reprehensible.”