New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's (D) war on local cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is drawing fire from all sides: a federal lawsuit from 15 county sheriffs, a defiant holdout in Rensselaer County, and a Republican opponent demanding to know why Albany wants fewer cops working with federal authorities to remove dangerous illegal immigrants.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the Republican nominee for governor, didn't mince words Friday. Hochul's Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, which bars local law enforcement from maintaining immigration enforcement agreements with ICE, will cost lives, he said.
“I want to be very clear about this law: This law is written in the blood of the victims, past, present and future. This law is completely misguided and will make our communities less safe.”
Blakeman accused Hochul and the Democratic-controlled legislature of repeatedly making it easier for criminals to return to the streets. He pointed to recent crimes by illegal immigrants, including a Honduran national charged in Nassau County with second-degree rape and endangering the welfare of a 14-year-old; the kind of case, he argued, where ICE cooperation matters.
The law took effect Tuesday and bans state and local law enforcement agencies from entering or remaining in agreements with ICE under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Those agreements allow trained local officers to question, arrest, and detain people suspected of violating federal immigration law, tools Albany has now removed from their arsenal.
Hochul's office fired back, claiming police remain free to cooperate with federal authorities in criminal investigations and violent-crime cases. A spokesperson disputed Blakeman's view of the law and insisted Hochul's "top priority remains public safety." The sheriffs aren't buying it.
A group of 15 sheriffs, led by Rensselaer County Sheriff Kyle Bourgault, filed a federal lawsuit challenging the ban. They argue that Albany is unconstitutionally blocking elected sheriffs from entering agreements that Congress has already authorized, and that Hochul is powerless to stop it.
Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin wasn't waiting around for permission from Albany.
“We don’t really care what this legislature did, we are not going to let them endanger our citizens. I dare you to confront me on this, governor. We’re not stopping.”
Hochul responded Tuesday by daring the sheriffs challenging the law to continue.
“And to those suing us, those trying to block the implementation of this law who’ve tried before and failed ... I say, bring it on.”
Blakeman said Nassau County attorneys also sought a way to keep the county’s ICE agreement but concluded that officials would have to comply while the state law remains in force. “I am a law-and-order county executive,” he said. “I believe in the rule of law, even when it’s a bad law.”
Rensselaer County chose a different route.
Late Thursday, Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James sued the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office in state court, seeking an order forcing it to terminate its 287(g) agreement with ICE. The county has maintained the agreement since March 2020. Of the 12 New York law enforcement agencies that had 287(g) agreements before Hochul signed the new law, Rensselaer is the only one that has not indicated it intends to dissolve its agreement.
James’ office wanted proof the sheriff was ending the ICE agreement, but even after reaching out, it never got it. On August 19, the office subpoenaed the department for records. Rensselaer officials weren’t exactly hiding where they stood, either. One told a reporter the state could take its letter, “crumple it up and shove it.”
The Trump administration isn't sitting this one out either. The Justice Department filed its own federal lawsuit in June, arguing New York has no business using state law to kneecap federal immigration enforcement. A federal judge declined on August 3 to block the 287(g) restrictions, for now.
Hochul now has the Trump administration challenging her law, 15 sheriffs fighting it in federal court, and one county refusing to end its partnership with ICE. Blakeman is betting New York voters will see the dispute less as a fight over immigration procedure than a question of why Albany wants fewer cops working with federal authorities to remove dangerous illegal immigrants.