State Orders Nassau to End ICE Cooperation Agreements by August

New York's attorney general has dispatched formal notices to Nassau County and 11 other law enforcement agencies statewide, directing them to dissolve their cooperation agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement no later than Aug. 25, pursuant to legislation signed earlier this year.

The letters were sent by the newly established Office of Immigrant Trust, a division within the Attorney General's office created under the Local Cops Local Crimes Act that Gov. Kathy Hochul signed in May. The law prohibits state and local law enforcement agencies from entering into so-called 287(g) agreements — arrangements that formally authorize local officers to perform civil immigration enforcement duties on ICE's behalf. The statute also forbids government-operated correctional and juvenile detention facilities from being used to hold individuals for federal immigration authorities.

Both the Nassau County Police Department and the Nassau County Sheriff's Department are listed among the agencies that received letters. Nassau County has been one of the state's most active local partners with ICE: County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who is challenging Hochul in the governor's race, deputized 10 county officers to aid immigration enforcement efforts and leases jail space to the federal agency.

Blakeman responded sharply Friday, saying attorneys for both the police department and the sheriff's department were reviewing the notice and would reply by Aug. 14.

"Kathy Hochul is hell bent on making the communities of New York state less safe. Shame on her," Blakeman said in a statement.

Hochul defended the measure in a statement Friday. "In New York, we will not tolerate the diversion of local resources for federal civil immigration enforcement at the expense of public safety," she said.

The law additionally bars local officials from granting ICE access to schools, parks, hospitals and other protected locations without a warrant issued by a judge, and prohibits local employees from questioning individuals about immigration status on that basis alone without such a warrant. Cooperation between local police and ICE on criminal matters is not affected by the new legislation.

Agencies have until Aug. 14 to inform the Office of Immigrant Trust of the status of their ICE agreements, including any progress toward termination. The deadline for the agreements themselves to be fully dissolved is Aug. 25. Blakeman has previously signaled that he may pursue legal action against the state over the law.