Gov. Kathy Hochul recently said she would ban all partnerships that allow local law enforcement to work with federal immigration agents. Madison County is one of eight counties in the state cooperating with the federal government, but only for people who have committed a crime in New York.

“A lot of people feel like our deputies are going to be assisting ICE hands-on in the field, going door-to-door doing removal operations. That’s 100% not the case,” said Jon Morticelli, a lieutenant with the Madison County Sheriff’s Department.

In July, Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood, who is now the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, imposed a 287(g) agreement under the Warrant Service Officer model. These agreements are formal partnerships between police agencies and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Morticelli said the agreement only applies within the county jail.

“Our agreement does not extend beyond the walls of this building. It is 100% a jail program,” he said.

The department has had one individual who qualified under the program since it was put into place.

“He had been arrested locally for a sexual assault crime of a violent nature, and upon his release from our facility, was effectively transferred over to the custody of ICE for enforcement of the immigration warrant,” Morticelli said.

There are three different models that are typically used under 287(g) agreements, including the warrant service officers model. The Jail Enforcement Model allows local law enforcement to identify and process individuals in their custody without documentation. The model defined by ICE as a “force multiplier”, the Task Force Model, allows local law enforcement to enforce limited immigration authority while performing routine police duties.

Other counties in New York with warrant service officer models include Broome, Nassau, Niagara, Otsego and Steuben counties. The counties with the Task Force Model are Nassau, Niagara, Steuben and Cattaraugus. Three municipalities also have Task Force Models in place, which include Allegany Village police, Camden police and Wayland police departments, according to ICE’s website.

“If someone is not brought into the jail, there’s nothing Madison County deputies are going to be doing immigration enforcement-wise. No one on our road patrol is certified under the warrant service officer model. It is only jail deputies,” Morticelli said.

The scope of the 287(g) agreement for Madison County is intended to best serve the county’s residents, Morticelli said.

“It enforces, basically, what our office is looking to enforce. It’s getting rid of criminals and by getting rid of, I mean through the legal process, through federal immigration law,” he said. “It’s not targeting any hardworking farmers, hardworking individuals that are contributing to the betterment of the community.”

During a press conference last month, Hochul said she wanted to ban 287(g) agreements; however, she said her top priority is to protect New York residents.

“When individuals enter this country illegally and commit crimes, I want them to be arrested and tried. If they’re convicted, they must be imprisoned and deported. That’s what we have been doing for decades here because I need to protect the immigrant community from criminals as well,” Hochul said.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a press release that the policy would make New Yorkers less safe.

“When politicians bar local law enforcement from working with DHS, our law enforcement officers have to have a more visible presence so that we can find and apprehend the criminals let out of jails back into communities,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in the press release.

DHS said that there are currently 7,113 “aliens” with criminal charges in the state and McLaughlin concluded her statement by calling on Hochul to turn them over to federal agencies. Since Hochul became governor, the state has turned over 1,400 convicted criminals to immigration officials, she said during the press conference. However, Hochul said she does not support the use of jails for immigration purposes.

“Jails should be used for what our sheriffs need them for, a place to hold people accused of a crime before they have their trial or for misdemeanors. But cutting off access to our jails for ICE agents will make it harder for them to operate these large-scale operations, which they’re building up to try and do right now in the state of New York,” Hochul said.

Morticelli said that until they are told otherwise, they will continue to operate with their 287(g) model.

“We’re going to continue business as usual under our agreement in the name of public safety,” Morticelli said. “I believe that our current warrant service model is in the best interest of public safety, given that it does allow for safe transfer of individuals and limits removal operations out in the community.”