{"id":330579,"date":"2026-08-26T22:46:36","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T22:46:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/330579\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T22:46:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T22:46:36","slug":"local-cops-local-crimes-act-officially-goes-into-effect-across-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/330579\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Cops, Local Crimes Act officially goes into effect across New York"},"content":{"rendered":"

BROOME COUNTY, N.Y. (WBNG) — A landmark New York law banning local police from acting as federal immigration officers officially went into effect<\/a> Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Governor Kathy Hochul announced the activation of the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act<\/a>, which prohibits municipalities from partnering with federal authorities under 287(g) agreements.<\/p>\n

State officials emphasized that local law enforcement should remain dedicated to neighborhood safety rather than shifting resources to assist ICE. Hochul argued that taxpayer-funded police must focus on solving real crimes instead of executing federal civil immigration duties.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I said at the top, local police will assist ICE only if a real crime has been committed. But on civil immigration matters, ICE is on their own. Let me be clear. Any police department or sheriff\u2019s office that disobeys this law, that maintains any agreement with ICE, will face legal action,\u201d Hochul said.<\/p>\n

According to Hochul\u2019s website<\/a>, data shows that the controversial agreements are not necessary to keep communities safe. Out of 53 New York counties that have never participated in the program, seven are ranked among the safest places in the country.<\/p>\n

The policy shift comes as the state continues to invest heavily in public safety, including nearly $4 billion aimed at reducing local crime<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Supporters of the ban say that collaborating with federal agents distances immigrant communities and discourages victims from reporting crimes.<\/p>\n

Last month, Attorney General Letitia James directed<\/a> 12 local agencies, including the Broome County Sheriff\u2019s Office, to dismantle their existing partnerships<\/a> with federal immigration authorities ahead of the Aug. 25 state deadline.<\/p>\n

Broome County Sheriff Fred Akshar released a letter confirming his department will follow the new state ban. However, Akshar vowed to \u201cchallenge and ultimately overturn this egregious act of government overreach.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Attorney General\u2019s Office of Immigrant Trust will monitor compliance and ensure local resources are used solely to protect residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo county executive should think that they are above the law in the state of New York. However, if they do thwart the laws that are duly enacted by this legislature and the governor, the attorney general will be fully responsible for enforcement,\u201d Hochul said.<\/p>\n

The legislation is part of a broader state effort to shield immigrant communities from aggressive federal enforcement actions. Other recently enacted protections include safeguarding student access to public education and allowing citizens to sue officials who violate their constitutional rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur law has been already upheld by courts. But if you\u2019re trying it again, I say bring it on. Courts have already spoken. But I\u2019m confident we\u2019ll win again. In the meantime, we expect all agencies in the confines of the great state of New York to comply. Because if you want to enforce the law, the first thing you also have to do is follow the law,\u201d Hochul said.<\/p>\n

The ban took effect after a federal court rejected a challenge from the U.S. Department of Justice, which had sought to block the measure. Residents are encouraged to report any violations of the new law to the state\u2019s official hotline and federal action portal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m being very specific when I say this. Criminals. Always have, always will. Once they\u2019re convicted and do their time, we work with ICE to ensure they\u2019re deported. And I\u2019ll repeat that New York State will never become a sanctuary for criminals. But at the same time, we\u2019re not talking about criminals. And we will not sit idly by when ICE commits atrocities on our streets. We will not allow local cops to be diverted as ICE agents to conduct civil immigration enforcement,\u201d Hochul said.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 WBNG. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BROOME COUNTY, N.Y. (WBNG) — A landmark New York law banning local police from acting as federal immigration…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":330580,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[2035,426,9,24,63,122,124,123,4281,3904],"class_list":["post-330579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-ice","tag-kathy-hochul","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-state-budget","tag-wwny"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330579","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=330579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330579\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/330580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=330579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=330579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=330579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}