(Chris Wade, The Center Square) Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is telling county sheriffs they need to end agreements with ICE to honor civil detainer requests for suspected illegal aliens in response to the state’s newly minted restrictions.
In a letter to a dozen sheriffs in Broome, Madison, Nassau, Rensselaer and other counties, Hochul ordered them to terminate their so-called 287(g) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that allow local cops to be deputized by ICE for immigration enforcement.
Hochul said the federal civil immigration pacts violate newly signed state legislation. The governor demanded that the sheriffs submit documentation verifying that they have terminated the agreements by an Aug. 25 deadline.
“Nobody is above the law,” the Democrat said in a statement. “In New York, we will not tolerate the diversion of local resources for federal civil immigration enforcement at the expense of public safety.”
Hochul signed the “Local Cops, Local Crimes Act” in May that bans state and local law enforcement agencies from helping the federal government in civil immigration enforcement cases and bans ICE agents from wearing masks during operations.
Attorney General Letitia James warned in the letter that the new Office of Immigrant Trust would take legal action against any local police or sheriff’s department that continued to cooperate with ICE through its Section 287(g) agreements.
“The Office of Immigrant Trust will help ensure that schools, local governments, and public agencies remain places of safety and support, rather than agents of the federal administration’s campaign of fear and intimidation,” James said in a statement.
In June, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against New York state challenging the constitutionality of the new law, which lawyers for the DOJ said would make ICE agents and other federal authorities subject “to criminal penalties” for wearing masks to protect their identities.
“Law enforcement officers risk their lives every day to keep Amricans safe, and they do not deserve to be doxed or harassed simply for carrying out their duties. New York’s anti-law enforcement policies regulate the federal government and are designed to create risk for our agents,” Attorney General Todd Blanche in statement. “These laws cannot stand.”
Hochul responded by directing James to file a lawsuit seeking to uphold the new restrictions on immigration enforcement.
The governor’s challenger in the upcoming election, Nassau County Republican Executive Bruce Blakeman has criticized the law and vowed to challenge it in court. His running mate for lieutenant governor, Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood, was also among those who received a notice from Hochul demanding that they end the ICE agreements.
