LaLota Stands Firm: No Federal Dollars for East Hampton’s Anti-ICE Policies

Long Island Congressman Nick LaLota is drawing a clear line in the sand. The Republican representing New York’s 1st District has made plain that East Hampton Town and East Hampton Village will not receive his support for federal Community Project Funding—earmarks that often deliver millions for roads, public safety equipment, and infrastructure—unless they reverse their recently adopted restrictions on cooperating with federal immigration authorities.

The trigger was the pair of “Public Safety and Accountability” ordinances passed by East Hampton Town and East Hampton Village, the only two of Long Island’s 109 municipalities to enact such rules. These measures limit local police and town resources from assisting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on civil immigration matters. They ban 287(g) agreements, restrict the use of local personnel and equipment without a judicial warrant, and constrain information sharing and on-the-ground support during federal operations.

LaLota responded with a letter to supervisors, mayors, and other local officials across his district. He reminded them that Community Project Funding is discretionary and should favor governments that “cooperate with federal partners, uphold the rule of law, and protect public safety.” He stated he will not back funding requests from any municipality that deliberately obstructs, impedes, or refuses lawful cooperation with federal authorities.

On X, the congressman has spelled out exactly how these East Hampton Town and East Hampton Village policies undermine public safety. “Under the sanctuary laws recently adopted in East Hampton Town and East Hampton Village—which I strongly oppose but my woke and weak opponent supports—local officials cannot use East Hampton's license plate reader data to assist federal agents searching for an individual with a final order of removal who also has pending sexual assault charges,” he posted. “Why would we deny law enforcement a tool that could help safely locate someone accused of a violent crime? Public safety should come before politics.”

In another post he warned: “an illegal immigrant arrested for DUI or domestic violence who is also subject to a final order of removal cannot be safely transferred to ICE while already in custody. Instead, that individual may be released before federal agents arrive, forcing ICE to locate and arrest them later in our neighborhoods. Policies have consequences.”

He further noted that local officers already on scene “can no longer provide routine assistance like securing a perimeter or directing traffic simply because the operation is civil rather than criminal. That doesn't make anyone safer. It makes immigration enforcement more dangerous for Law Enforcement Officers and the public.”

LaLota has correctly pointed out that these are the first sanctuary-style policies on Long Island. Every other town and village—led by Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike—has rejected this approach because they understand a basic truth: local and federal law enforcement must work together to keep communities safe. When that cooperation ends, enforcement becomes riskier for officers, the public, and even those being taken into custody. Otherwise simple and safe transfers of detained criminals are often replaced with dangerous neighborhood sweeps with related collateral damage. Taxpayer dollars should never reward policies that make law enforcement’s job harder and more dangerous.

East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen and Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez have refused to reverse course. Larsen claimed the village will not be “intimidated” and insisted the ordinance merely defines local resource use while leaving federal authority intact. Burke-Gonzalez went further, accusing LaLota of attacking neighbors and declaring the town will not be “bullied.” Both have chosen politics over practical public safety, advancing these measures while competing in Democratic primaries.

OLA of Eastern Long Island (Organización Latino Americana is a nonprofit Latino-focused advocacy organization based on Long Island’s East End), which helped craft the model language, has defended the rules as promoting transparency. Yet the practical effect is clear: tools that could help locate individuals with final removal orders and serious local charges are taken offline, and routine support that keeps operations safer is prohibited.

LaLota’s position is straightforward and consistent with the approach that has long kept Long Island safer than sanctuary strongholds like New York City. Federal funding is a privilege, not an entitlement. Communities that obstruct lawful immigration enforcement should not expect Long Island taxpayers—or American taxpayers—to subsidize those choices through earmarks.

The congressman has left the door open. Restore cooperation, and the funding pathway remains available. Continue down this path, and East Hampton Town and East Hampton Village will forgo future federal support. Public safety and the rule of law come first.