On August 27th, the dispute between New York state and local sheriffs on their cooperation with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has escalated to the courtroom. Following the enactment of a new law prohibiting cooperation with ICE on August 25th, 15 county sheriffs sued the state government. On August 27th, the state government counter-sued the Rensselaer County sheriff for refusing to terminate the agreement with ICE.
New York State Governor Hochul and Attorney General James announced on August 27th that they would file a lawsuit against the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office, accusing them of not complying with the new New York State law, the Local Law Enforcement Crime Fighting Act. The law requires local law enforcement agencies to terminate all agreements made under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act by August 25th, which restricts local police cooperation with ICE.
After the new law officially took effect on August 25th, Nassau County Executive and Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman’s stance shifted once again. On August 26th, he announced that Nassau County would comply with the new law, terminating its formal cooperation agreement with ICE. However, he emphasized that Nassau County would join the 15 county sheriffs in a federal lawsuit against the state government to challenge Hochul’s law restricting local cooperation with ICE.
Blakeman had previously resisted ending Nassau County’s cooperation with ICE. He had expressed hopes of finding legal avenues to continue the partnership even before the new law came into effect on August 25th. Yet, the Attorney General’s office had issued subpoenas to county governments, including Nassau County, that were accused of not complying with the new law, requesting proof of terminating cooperation with ICE.
Section 287(g) agreements are agreements between ICE and state or local law enforcement agencies that authorize local law enforcement officers to perform certain federal civil immigration enforcement functions. According to the agreements, local law enforcement officers may be authorized to question, arrest, and detain individuals suspected of violating federal civil immigration laws.
On May 27th, Governor Hochul signed the Local Law Enforcement Crime Fighting Act (LCLCA), which prohibits local law enforcement agencies from signing or continuing these agreements with the federal government, effective on August 25th.
The Hochul administration argues that the new law does not hinder local police from handling actual criminal cases or prohibit cooperation with federal law enforcement agencies in situations involving crimes, judicial orders, and others. Hochul stated that the primary duty of local police should be managing “local crimes” rather than enforcing civil immigration laws for ICE.
Fifteen county sheriffs filed a lawsuit in federal court against Hochul and Attorney General James, seeking to halt the enforcement of the new law, claiming it “violates the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution.” They also pointed out that the actual effect of some 287(g) agreements is to transfer eligible individuals to ICE after serving criminal sentences or resolving cases, rather than local officers conducting immigration arrests. They are concerned that ending cooperation could also impact the revenue local governments originally received from federal contracts.