BATAVIA, N.Y. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it plans to add 100 detention beds at its federally operated facility in Batavia, directly linking the expansion to a new state law restricting local cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
ICE told Spectrum News 1 it is constructing a new hard-sided detention facility on federal property at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility.
“Due to New York State laws prohibiting counties from contracting with ICE to house illegal aliens, ICE is constructing a new hard-sided detention facility on federal property at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, New York, to ensure sufficient detention capacity in support of the agency’s immigration enforcement mission,” ICE said in a statement.
The agency said the new facility will have 100 beds and operate under ICE’s national detention standards.
The expansion comes after a new state law took effect requiring local law enforcement agencies to end 287(g) agreements with ICE. Those agreements allow designated local officers to perform certain federal immigration enforcement functions.
Republican state Sen. George Borrello, whose district includes the Batavia facility, said he believes the expansion is a direct result of the state’s new restrictions.
“Well, that’s a direct response to the fact that, that the Democrats in charge, including the governor, are prohibiting local law enforcement from, you know, safely and orderly, transferring, criminals to, federal law enforcement agencies inside our jails,” Borrello told Spectrum News 1.
Borrello said he does not believe the federal government will reduce immigration enforcement because of the new state policy. Instead, he said he expects more enforcement to move outside local jails and into communities and federally controlled facilities.
The immigration fight comes as Gov. Kathy Hochul is also escalating a separate public safety dispute with the Trump administration.
Hochul on Tuesday accused President Donald Trump of “defunding the police” by withholding $87 million in federal counterterrorism funding she says New York is still owed.
The governor said the money supports intelligence operations, transit security, bomb squads, police departments and sheriff’s offices across the state.
“Don’t undermine our public safety efforts. Don’t defund the police who thwart terror attacks. Don’t play political games with people’s lives. Release the $87 million you owe us,” Hochul said.
Hochul is demanding the money be released ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
When asked whether he saw a contradiction between Washington expanding immigration detention capacity while New York says it is still waiting for federal counterterrorism dollars, Borrello rejected the comparison.
“Look, this is just a distraction. You know, the governor knows that she’s on the losing end of this,” Borrello said.
But when asked directly whether New York should receive the full $87 million regardless of his disagreements with Hochul, Borrello said the funding is needed.
“I strongly believe that, that funding, is, is warranted and needed,” Borrello said.
He nevertheless criticized Hochul’s spending decisions involving law enforcement and pointed to the cost of deploying National Guard members in state prisons.
The disputes underscore competing arguments from state and federal officials over public safety and law enforcement in New York.
Hochul argues the Trump administration is jeopardizing public safety by failing to release counterterrorism funding the state says it was promised. Borrello and other Republicans argue state Democrats are undermining law enforcement by restricting cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
ICE, meanwhile, says New York’s new restrictions are already affecting its detention strategy, with additional federal capacity now planned in Batavia.