{"id":312661,"date":"2026-08-03T17:35:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T17:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/312661\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T17:35:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T17:35:13","slug":"new-york-sheriffs-protest-as-state-law-limiting-ice-cooperation-goes-into-effect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/312661\/","title":{"rendered":"New York sheriffs protest as state law limiting ICE cooperation goes into effect"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Buffalo News, N.Y.<\/p>\n

NIAGARA, N.Y \u2014 Niagara County Sheriff Michael J. Filicetti said his office would abide by a new state law that bars local police agencies in New York from allowing their officers and resources to be used by federal agencies in civil immigration actions.<\/p>\n

But he made clear he doesn\u2019t like it.<\/p>\n

| RELATED: Choose the right real-time policing model for your agency<\/a><\/p>\n

Sheriff\u2019s departments in Niagara and Cattaraugus counties, as well as the Allegany Village Police Department, are among a dozen New York law enforcement agencies that have allowed their officers and resources \u2013 including jail space \u2013 to be used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under a 1996 federal law.<\/p>\n

Under the \u201cLocal Cops, Local Crimes Act,\u201d which Gov. Kathy Hochul championed as part of the state\u2019s $277 billion budget enacted in May, the departments cannot assist ICE or any federal agency on civil immigration matters.<\/p>\n

Nothing keeps the agencies from working with ICE or other federal agencies on criminal matters.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me be clear: While I will comply with the law, I intend to continue working closely with our federal immigration partners,\u201d Filicetti said in a statement. He added that irrespective of the end of the office\u2019s agreement with federal agencies, his office would still honor lawful immigration detainers, notify federal law enforcement before the release of inmates and maintain \u201cour longstanding partnership with federal immigration authorities\u201d for public safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a border county, Niagara County faces unique public safety and homeland security challenges,\u201d the sheriff said. \u201cOur proximity to the international border makes communication and coordination with our federal immigration and law enforcement partners critical. These relationships have been built over decades and have contributed significantly to the safety and security of our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cattaraugus County Sheriff Eric A. Butler said he remains opposed to this effort to prevent the state\u2019s sheriffs from cooperating with ICE, and he is exploring his legal options.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen individuals in our custody are subject to federal immigration enforcement, this partnership allows transfers to occur safely and responsibly within a secure correctional setting,\u201d he said in a statement to The Buffalo News . \u201cEnding that cooperation does not eliminate underlying safety concerns \u2013 it simply shifts them elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Butler warned of the consequences of terminating the agreements with federal law enforcement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my view, forcing the end of these partnerships increases the likelihood that enforcement actions will occur in our neighborhoods, rather than in a controlled environment, creating unnecessary risks for law enforcement officers, the public and the individuals involved,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

People familiar with the law said Filicetti would not be violating the law by working with ICE regarding inmates detained for non-civil immigration reasons. But if the sheriff continued to detain people based on their suspected civil immigration violation, it would be against the law.<\/p>\n

\u201cCounties do not get to pick and choose which state laws they follow, and those that do not comply will be held accountable,\u201d said Jen Goodman, a spokesperson for Hochul. \u201cThe Local Cops, Local Crimes act does not prevent police from working with ICE and other federal law enforcement to apprehend or detain dangerous criminals. Anyone who would divert personnel and resources away from local law enforcement is clearly not interested in keeping New York communities safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

On July 24, Attorney General Letitia James sent letters to the 12 agencies that have had agreements with ICE, asking them to comply with the new law by Aug. 14. Three law enforcement officials have suggested they would not abide by the law. They include Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood<\/a>, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor running alongside Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the GOP candidate vying to unseat Hochul.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, as James visited Western New York, a reporter asked her about Filicetti\u2019s remarks. James said litigation was pending in U. S District Court. The U.S. Department of Justice is challenging a part of the budget that outlaws law enforcement agencies from wearing masks in their interaction with the public. James said he said she awaited a declaratory judgement from the court to support the law.<\/p>\n

James said the law was needed, in part. because masked immigration agents acting without warrants \u201cjump out of unmarked vehicles with no identification, basically seizing individuals in violation of a law. So it\u2019s a matter of public trust, public safety and it\u2019s also a matter of public dollars in the state of New York being used to detain individuals on civil immigrant warrants, and not criminal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hochul criticized ICE and Customs and Border Patrol agents following two deadly incidents in Minneapolis : an ICE agent\u2019s shooting of Renee Nicole Good, 37, on Jan. 7, and CBP agents\u2019 shooting of Alex Pretti, 37, on Jan. 24. The next month, CBP agents released Nurul Amin Shah Alam, 56, from the Erie County Holding Center on Feb. 19. They dropped mostly blind, non-English-speaking refugee from Myanmar off in arctic temperatures outside a closed Tim Hortons restaurant in Black Rock. He was found dead five days later.<\/p>\n

In his statement, Filicetti highlighted the 9\/11 attacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the most important lessons from that tragic day was that communication and cooperation between local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies are essential to protecting our homeland,\u201d he said. \u201cBreaking down those partnerships does not make our communities safer \u2013 it weakens our ability to prevent crime, identify threats, and keep our citizens safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"NYPD<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n \u201cI did have to make an arrest yesterday off duty. Somebody broke into my neighbor\u2019s house,\u201d Lt. Joseph Bell told the crowd gathered to honor his retirement\n <\/p>\n

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\"Screenshot<\/p>\n

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\n \u201cI commend the quick response and decisive actions of our officers … in providing immediate assistance during a critical and life-threatening situation,\u201d said New London PD Chief Brian M. Wright\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"US-NEWS-LAPD-RACIST-COMMENTS-AUDIO-OFFICER-FILEPIC-LA\"<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Daniel Flores turned over roughly 90 recordings to his superiors, which allegedly reveal officers in the recruitment unit making derogatory and racist remarks\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Bernalillo<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n The lawsuits alleged Bernalillo County knowingly operated an aging helicopter with serious mechanical problems before the deadly crash\n <\/p>\n

\u00a9 2026 The Buffalo News (Buffalo, N.Y.). Visit www.buffalonews.com<\/a>.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.<\/a><\/p>\n

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\n Longtime ballistic helmet leader to guide next chapter of protection, innovation and growth\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Buffalo News, N.Y. NIAGARA, N.Y \u2014 Niagara County Sheriff Michael J. Filicetti said his office would abide…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":312662,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9,11,10,49,51,50],"class_list":["post-312661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-new-york-state","tag-new-york-state-headlines","tag-new-york-state-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=312661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/312662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=312661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=312661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=312661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}