New York Governor Kathy Hochul says the statewide ban on 287(g) agreements as part of a comprehensive package of protection for Caribbean and other immigrants, has gone into effect.
Hochul said the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act ensures that law enforcement agencies remain focused on keeping New York communities safe, rather than being used for US President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration enforcement, diverting critical resources to do the job of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
‘Here in New York, we need local police focused on keeping our communities safe-not serving as de-facto ICE agents, not conducting civil immigration enforcement, and not carrying out the Trump Administration’s callous immigration agenda,’ Hochul said.
‘That’s why I championed our new law banning 287(g) agreements and ensuring local cops remain focused on real crime in our communities,’ she said, adding that ‘starting today, ICE can no longer commandeer locally-funded police to aid an out-of-control federal agency with an US$85 billion budget’.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said the authorities expect all law enforcement agencies in New York to uphold New York’s laws.
‘Through the Office of Immigrant Trust, my office will continue to work 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 upheld.
‘True public safety requires public trust, and we are committed to ensuring all New Yorkers are kept safe,’ she added.
Hochul said that, prior to 2025, only one of New York’s 62 counties had a 287(g) agreement with ICE with 53 counties in New York having never entered into a 287(g) agreement that allow local officers or employees to engage in or assist with federal civil immigration enforcement or otherwise perform the functions of federal immigration officers.
Last month, Attorney General James sent letters to the 12 local law enforcement agencies in New York that had 287(g) agreements with ICE, informing them that state law requires they unwind the agreements by August. 25, 2026.
In June, the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in federal district court seeking to block certain provisions of the governor’s immigration protection laws, including the 287(g) prohibition in the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act.
A federal court then denied the DOJ’s motion for a preliminary injunction and on Tuesday, 15 county sheriffs filed a lawsuit challenging the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act’s ban on 287(g) agreements with ICE.
But Hochul and James retorted in a joint statement noting ‘as we have said from the start, the ‘Local Cops, Local Crimes Act’ keeps New Yorkers safe by ensuring public safety resources go toward combating crime in our communities, not carrying out the work of ICE.
‘The claim that these sheriffs cannot do the same says more about them than it does about the law,’ Hochul and James said, adding that ‘this lawsuit is nothing but a frivolous waste of taxpayer dollars.
‘The courts have already declined to block this law once, and we are confident they will do so again. In the meantime, we expect all law enforcement agencies in New York to uphold state law,’ they added.