New York law banning local police cooperation with ICE takes effect

What This is

• A new New York law now bans local police and sheriffs from entering into or keeping 287(g) agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement for civil immigration enforcement.
• Governor Kathy Hochul says ICE can still enforce federal immigration law on its own, and local police can still help on criminal matters.
• New York Attorney General Letitia James has issued subpoenas to several counties she says are not complying, including Rensselaer, Broome, Steuben, and Nassau counties.
• More than a dozen sheriffs have sued in federal court, arguing the state’s ban on ICE cooperation agreements is unconstitutional.
• Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman says Nassau will join a lawsuit challenging the ban.
• Immigrant-rights groups and faith leaders have rallied in Nassau County urging officials to end cooperation with ICE and criticizing harsh enforcement tactics.

Why This Matters

• The dispute sets the practical line between federal immigration power and a state’s ability to limit how its local police and jails help enforce civil immigration rules.
• It shapes whether immigrants see local police as safe to call, or as a risk of being turned over to immigration agents.
• If counties keep resisting, subpoenas and lawsuits could shift power between Albany and elected sheriffs over how jails and police departments are run.
• The fight is also becoming a campaign issue, pushing immigration enforcement into New York’s statewide politics.