This Tuesday, New York vetoed by law throughout the state the cooperation between local police forces and the Immigration Service (ICE) in civil immigration cases so that the agents are not used by Donald Trump’s Government to “reach their quotas” of deportations, according to the governor, Kathy Hochul.
The Democratic governor noted that, with the entry into force of the “Local Police, Local Crimes” law, ICE will not be able to use local police forces to execute Trump’s “aggressive immigration agenda”, but will only assist the federal agency “if a real crime has been committed”, something that both she and several police officers assured was normal until recently.
Hochul argued that local police should be free to “respond to cases where a person breaks the law, not to go to a school, a church or a Home Depot and help Stephen Miller (Trump advisor architect of immigration policies) meet his quotas.”
For his part, the Police Chief of Albany, the state capital, Brendan Cox, warned that “trust is eroded when local forces are asked to carry out federal civil immigration actions.”
“When trust is broken and residents are afraid to call the police, victims stay silent, witnesses don’t speak up… we are all less safe,” he said.
Cox assured that since he began his career in 1994, the local body he now directs “never” dedicated itself to civil immigration cases, and questioned, along with other colleagues, the application of federal cooperation agreements known as 287(g) precisely when crime has decreased in recent years in their localities, as they stated.
The governor pointed out that the law that comes into force has prevailed in the courts against local lawsuits, assured that 60 of the state’s 62 counties already comply with it in practice, and challenged local entities that want to challenge it.
One of the exceptions is Nassau County, an area for years besieged by gang violence, which has a large number of Republican voters and where local political leader Bruce Blakeman is seeking to replace Hochul as governor in the next election, for which he has already been endorsed by Trump.
287(g) Agreements Prohibited
“Here in New York, we need local police to focus on keeping our communities safe, not on acting as de facto agents of ICE, not on enforcing civil immigration laws, nor on carrying out the Trump administration’s callous immigration agenda,” Governor Hochul stressed.
“That’s why I pushed for our new law that bans 287(g) agreements and ensures local police officers remain focused on real crimes in our communities. Starting today, ICE will no longer be able to commandeer locally funded police officers to assist an out-of-control federal agency with an $85 billion budget.”
In this regard, New York Attorney General Letitia James said: “We expect all New York law enforcement agencies to comply with the state’s laws. Through the Office of Immigrant Trust, my office will continue to collaborate with law enforcement professionals across the state to ensure they understand their obligations, and we are prepared to enforce the law if those responsibilities are not met. “True public safety requires public trust, and we are committed to ensuring the safety of all New Yorkers.”
It is worth mentioning that before 2025, only one of New York’s 62 counties had a 287(g) agreement with ICE. To date, 53 New York counties have never entered into a 287(g) agreement. Of those 53 counties, 7 are among the 25 safest communities in the United States, demonstrating that 287(g) agreements are not essential to improving safety in New York.
New Yorkers who witness federal enforcement actions anywhere in the state should report them to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) through the Federal Actions Portal.
New Yorkers who believe that a state or local agency, employee, contractor, school or other covered entity has violated state laws related to civil enforcement of immigration law are urged to contact the OAG hotline at 1-800-771-7755.
