287(g) agreement ban takes effect in N.Y.

Flanked by police chiefs, Gov. Kathy Hochul touted how New York’s ban on 287(g) agreements makes the state safer. 

“Local police, local crimes, not conducting civil immigration enforcement, not chasing Stephen Miller’s inane deportation quotas,” Hochul said. 

287(g) agreements allow local police to assist or function as federal civil immigration enforcement officers. According to the governor, prior to 2025, just one county, Rensselaer, had this agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Fifty-three counties have never had one, and seven of those are among the 25 safest in America, per U.S. News & World Report. 

“Trust directly impacts public safety,” said Albany Police Chief Brendan Cox. “When that trust is broken, when residents fear calling the police, when victims stay silent, when witnesses refuse to come forward, we all become less safe.” 

But not all officials say they’ll follow this law.

Nassau County, whose executive Bruce Blakeman is the Republican gubernatorial candidate running against Hochul, won’t comply. Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin won’t either. He says Rensselaer’s program is focused on background checks, not raids.   

“We’ll see you in court, governor,” McLaughlin said. “Because of the governor and the AG’s actions, we’re not left feeling safer.” 

Following Hochul’s announcement, 15 New York state sheriffs sued the state to try and get this 287(g) ban struck down. According to their suit, they allege that this law nullifies “the ability of independently elected constitutional officers to enter into contracts authorized by federal law.”

New York is also banning counties from using their local jails to hold people that ICE detains. Clinton County exited their agreement with ICE this March but not because of this law. 

“What they’re willing to reimburse us right now at $109 a night doesn’t cover our costs to be able to do that,” said Clinton County Sheriff David Favro. “I refuse to have our local taxpayers bear the burden of having to house federal detainees.” 

Orange County used its jail to hold people detained by ICE and according to their contract, received twice what Clinton County did. A statement from a spokesperson for Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus said that, “according to the County Attorney the County terminated its contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration Customs Enforcement to house ICE detainees at the Orange Jail. ICE is responsible for the transfer of these detainees out of the Jail to a new location. The County has no information regarding where any of the detainees will be transferred.”

However, Orange County Sheriff Paul Arteta is one of the sheriffs suing the state over the ban. 

Attorney General Letitia James responded to the lawsuit with a statement, saying in part that, “Many of the 12 entities with these agreements have complied without incident, and the vast majority of New York’s law enforcement agencies were already successfully protecting their communities without any collaboration with ICE. The claim that these sheriffs cannot do the same says more about them than it does about the law.”