Gov. Kathy Hochul faced criticism from congressmen for her stance on protecting illegal-immigrant criminals from ICE agents. During the confrontation, she struggled to defend her position, further intensifying the backlash against her actions.

One such incident involved an illegal immigrant named Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, who was accused of setting fire to a woman on an F train. When New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik brought up this high-profile case to Hochul, the governor appeared unaware of the details surrounding it.

Nor did she know the names of other notorious illegal immigrants who’d been in New York and are linked to horrific crimes.

Stefanik expressed her frustration, asking Hochul how she could be unaware of such well-known cases that have caused public outrage. Consequently, this confrontation between the two only heightened tensions and potential future political implications.

Nor could the gov bring herself to say that Tompkins County officials were wrong to release Romero-Hernandez, even though he had pleaded guilty to assault charges and was ordered deported — and ICE had asked for him to be held.

When ICE agents showed up to get him just a bit over an hour later, he was gone.

Reps. Nick Langworthy (R-NY) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) blamed Hochul’s policies for the murder of 22-year-old Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, noting that her killer, Jose Antonio Ibarra, was nabbed in New York on child-endangerment charges — but quickly freed.

They cited New York’s Green Light law, which bars state officials from sharing drivers’ info with federal officials, as well as its cashless-bail law.

And Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Order 170, which Hochul chose to continue, prohibiting “officers or employees, including law enforcement,” from disclosing “information to federal immigration authorities for the purpose of federal civil immigration enforcement,” unless expressly required by law.

Hochul claimed her office does cooperate with federal authorities — but also admitted New York welcomes illegal immigrants with open arms, and has for 400 years.

The problem, of course, is that unlike migrants of the past, illegal immigrants are, well, illegal: They have no right to be in America in the first place, yet President Joe Biden waved in millions nonetheless, mostly with little to no vetting.

These border-jumpers effectively cut in front of those waiting to enter legally, cost taxpayers billions, overwhelmed schools and public services and take jobs from citizens.

And far too many feel free to commit the most heinous of crimes.

Hochul seemed unfazed by all this and by lawmakers’ fury — and that of the family members of illegal immigrants’ victims.

New Yorkers should be just as livid at they are.