Hochul Proposes Legislation To Bar Formal Local ICE Partnerships

By ERIC SANTOMAURO-STENZEL
ALBANY

Amidst national controversy around the Department of Homeland Security’s operations in Minneapolis and elsewhere, last week Governor Kathy Hochul proposed legislation to bar local law enforcement agencies from formally partnering with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

If passed and signed into law, the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act would prohibit all law enforcement agencies in New York from having 287(g) partnerships with ICE and from detaining individuals for immigration purposes. The bill would expire in July 2029.

“Over the last year federal immigration agents have carried out unspeakable acts of violence against Americans under the guise of public safety. These abuses—and the weaponization of local police officers for civil immigration enforcement—will not stand in New York,” Hochul said in a January 30 press release. “Today, I’m announcing new actions that will safeguard our communities against dangerous federal overreach and ensure that New York law enforcement is focused on keeping New Yorkers safe—not doing the job of ICE.”

The legislation would add New York to seven other states that bar 287(g) agreements: Washington, Oregon, California, Illinois, New Jersey, Delaware and Connecticut.

This past fall, Otsego County Sheriff Richard Devlin Jr. signed a 287(g) Warrant Service Officer agreement with ICE. The Local Cops, Local Crimes Act would eliminate the agreement, along with at least 13 others across the state. Nearby Broome and Madison counties also have agreements that would be eliminated.

Otsego County’s agreement, the most limited of 287(g) categories, enables the Sheriff’s Office to facilitate the transfer of individuals with immigration warrants to ICE custody at the conclusion of their criminal custody in the county jail. Devlin previously said five jail supervisors have been trained under the agreement. When enacting the agreement, the officers are considered federal immigration agents and are at the direction of ICE.

Devlin did not respond to AllOtsego’s request for comment on Hochul’s legislation. He has previously defended his agreement as a way to prevent criminals from being released into the community, and emphasized that deputy sheriffs in public are not enforcing immigration law.

Otsego County’s representatives in Albany, who will have votes on Hochul’s proposal, have not publicly commented on it as of press time. Assemblymember Joe Angelino’s (R) office declined to comment, while the offices of Assemblymembers Brian Miller (R), Chris Tague (R), Robert Smullen (R), and State Senator Peter Oberacker (R) did not respond.

The Department of Homeland Security condemned Hochul’s legislation.

“Governor Hochul would make New Yorkers less safe as a direct result of this policy,” spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a press release. “When politicians bar local law enforcement from working with DHS, our law enforcement officers have to have a more visible presence so that we can find and apprehend the criminals let out of jails and back into communities.”

Caitlin Ogden, the chair of the Otsego County Democratic Committee, told AllOtsego she appreciates “the governor’s stance on this important issue.”

“Locally we have seen a lot of distrust and unease, knowing how eager our local sheriff is to work with ICE. This decision exemplifies why it is vital that New York continues to be led by Democrats who will think and act in the best interest of their constituents rather than leaders who will cede authority to a corrupt regime that does nothing but stoke fear and division in order to maintain power,” Ogden wrote.

Many law enforcement agencies informally collaborate with ICE without a 287(g), for example by notifying the agency when an individual with an immigration warrant is expected to be released. Hochul’s bill is a more limited proposal than what many state immigration advocates have coalesced around: the New York For All bill, which would also prohibit such informal collaboration.

The sponsors of that bill, lawmakers from New York City state Senator Andrew Gounardes (D) and Assemblymember Karines Reyes (D) said in a statement that Hochul’s proposal is “a good first step toward pushing back against Trump’s authoritarianism and ensuring real public safety for all New Yorkers” but that “it allows other pervasive forms of collusion to continue that erode public trust and safety.

“Our New York For All Act is the strongest way for us to guarantee that safety. It applies to all state and local government agencies our communities rely on—and to all the ways these agencies could coordinate with or collude with ICE. Under our bill, New Yorkers can attend parent-teacher conferences, visit public hospitals, and report labor violations without fearing they’ll be ripped apart from their families for doing so,” Gounardes and Reyes said.