State Ban on ICE Support in Effect

By Holly Crocco

A statewide ban on 287(g) agreements in the “Local Cops, Local Crime Act” signed into law in May as part of a package of immigration protections has taken effect, announced Gov. Kathy Hochul last week.

“Here in New York, we need local police focused on keeping our communities safe – not serving as de-facto ICE agents, not conducting civil immigration enforcement, and not carrying out the Trump administration’s callous immigration agenda,” she said. “Starting today, ICE can no longer commandeer locally-funded police to aid an out-of-control federal agency with an $85 billion budget.”

Section 287(g) agreements allow local officers or employees to engage in or assist with federal civil Immigration & Customs Enforcement officers. However, the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act now prohibits local governments and law enforcement agencies from entering into 287(g) agreements or similar arrangements that use local resources to detain people for federal immigration violations.

Prior to 2025, only one of New York’s 62 counties had a 287(g) agreement with ICE. To date, nine counties have such an agreement.

Last month, Attorney General Letitia James sent letters to the 12 local law enforcement agencies in New York that had 287(g) agreements with ICE, informing them that state law requires they unwind the agreements by Aug. 25.

“We expect all law enforcement agencies in New York to uphold New York’s laws,” she said. “Through the Office of Immigrant Trust, my office will continue to work with law enforcement professionals across the state to ensure they understand their obligations, and we are prepared to enforce the law if those responsibilities are not upheld.”

Last week, a lawsuit against the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office – which has maintained a 287(g) agreement with ICE since March 2020 – was initiated for failing to comply with the new law. It is the only agency that has not indicated its intent to dissolve its agreement.

“We place a priority on protecting the health, safety, and quality of life of residents,” said Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin. “Our participation in the 287(g) program means we screen any non-citizens brought to our jail to ensure they are not wanted for crimes elsewhere – the same as we do for any citizen brought to the facility. This ensures a person wanted for a dangerous crime is not released into our communities and neighborhoods.”

To protect its ability to be involved in the 287(g) program, McLaughlin said the county will be a party to a federal lawsuit filed in the Northern District of New York. “We believe Rensselaer County will be one of a number of plaintiffs in the suit,” he said.

Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne said he stands with Rensselaer County.

“Regardless of whether Putnam County is ultimately a party to this litigation, I stand with my friend and former colleague Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin, and other local leaders, fighting to protect the rights of their communities and put public safety first,” he said.

“When I first took office in 2023, I declared that Putnam County is a rule-of-law county, not a sanctuary county,” said Byrne. “We believe local governments must have the ability to work collaboratively and share important public safety information with our federal law enforcement partners, including U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement. Albany should be helping local governments keep their communities safe. Instead, they continuously throw up roadblocks for us dealing with violent illegal immigrants.”

Conservative Party county executive Candidate Tatiana Brahimi offered a similar sentiment, stating that, if elected, she will not “sit quietly while Albany undermines the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect us. I will stand firmly with ICE, our sheriffs, our police officers, and every law-abiding resident of Putnam County,” she said.

“As Albany passes laws that restrict lawful cooperation between our local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities, I will fight back – legally, constitutionally, and without hesitation,” continued Brahimi. “I believe our government has one fundamental responsibility: protect the people who follow the law and protect the communities they call home… I will not apologize for supporting secure borders, lawful immigration enforcement, ICE, our police, our sheriffs, and the rule of law.”

Democratic county executive candidate Brett Yarris said the new state law changes nothing for Putnam residents.

“The Putnam County Sheriff’s Department is already in compliance with the law,” he said. “They have no intent to change that.”

Further, Yarris said he wants the constituents that he hopes to represent to understand how state and local leadership can work together to keep the public safe. “Local law enforcement needs our support, to provide them with the tools to continue to serve,” he said.

Earlier this year, Hochul signed one of the most comprehensive laws in the nation to “rein in ICE and prevent federal overreach.”

The law prohibits local governments, state and local police, and corrections from entering into 287(g) agreements or similar agreements with the federal government that allow for state and local law enforcement personnel and facilities to be used for civil immigration enforcement purposes; prohibits officers from wearing face covering while interacting with the public; establishes a state law under which New Yorkers can bring a lawsuit against government officials for a violation of their constitutional rights; and other protections.

In June, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in federal district court seeking to block certain provisions of the governor’s immigration protection laws, including the 287(g) prohibition in the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, but a federal court denied the motion.

New Yorkers who witness federal enforcement actions anywhere in the state may report them at https://ag.ny.gov/federal-actions-form. New Yorkers who believe that a state or local agency, employee, contractor, school, or other covered entity has violated state laws related to civil immigration enforcement may contact the OAG hotline at 1-800-771-7755.