New York Governor DARES Sheriffs After They Sue Over Jaw-Dropping ICE Ban

Liberty Check

• New York’s Democrat governor signed a law forbidding local law enforcement from partnering with ICE on immigration enforcement, threatening legal action against agencies that refuse to comply
• Over a dozen sheriffs filed a federal lawsuit challenging the law as unconstitutional, arguing it unlawfully restricts their ability to uphold federal immigration agreements
• State officials issued subpoenas to non-compliant counties while the Department of Homeland Security condemned the policy as prioritizing politics over public safety

More than a dozen New York sheriffs have filed a federal lawsuit challenging a state law that prohibits law enforcement from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement on civil immigration matters. Governor Kathy Hochul responded to the legal challenge with defiance, telling the sheriffs to “bring it on.”

The lawsuit, led by Rensselaer County Sheriff Kyle Bourgault, argues that the law is unconstitutional and unlawfully prevents elected sheriffs from entering into federally authorized immigration-enforcement agreements. Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin didn’t mince words about the governor’s actions.

“Today, Kathy Hochul escalated her administration’s war on the police and she expanded polices to put criminals before the citizens of New York,” McLaughlin said on Tuesday.

The Local Cops, Local Crimes Act took effect Tuesday after Hochul signed it in May. The law bars local and state law enforcement agencies from entering into partnerships with federal authorities to assist on civil immigration matters. It also prohibits new agreements to house civil immigration detainees, with existing detention agreements required to be terminated within three months.

While police may still assist ICE in cases involving violent crime or other non-immigration offenses, officers cannot divert local resources to help with civil immigration enforcement. The move appears designed to obstruct President Donald Trump’s deportation agenda.

Hochul has threatened to sue localities that refuse to end cooperation agreements with ICE, setting up a confrontation with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican challenger whose county maintains such agreements.

“No county executive should think that they are above the law in the state of New York,” Hochul said at a press conference on Tuesday.

The governor warned that any police department or sheriff’s office maintaining an agreement with ICE will face legal action.

“And to those suing us, those trying to block the implementation of this law who’ve tried before and failed, our law has already been upheld by the courts, but if you try me again, I say, bring it on,” Hochul declared.

New York Attorney General Letitia James escalated the confrontation by issuing subpoenas to law enforcement agencies that either refused to confirm plans to end their ICE agreements or failed to provide what her office considered a satisfactory response. The subpoenas targeted sheriff’s offices in Broome, Steuben, Nassau and Rensselaer counties, along with the Nassau County Police Department.

If the agencies fail to comply, the attorney general has vowed to file a civil suit, according to a spokesperson for her office. The heavy-handed approach has drawn sharp criticism from law enforcement officials who argue they should be able to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

Hochul defended the law by claiming officers will still assist ICE “only if a real crime has been committed,” but cannot use resources on civil immigration matters.

“Because we need local cops hunting down criminals, not kindergartners. Breaking up drug rings, not breaking up families. Arresting gun runners, not grandmas,” Hochul said.

Blakeman, who held his own press conference at the same time as Hochul’s, later told the New York Post he would “probably” join the sheriffs’ lawsuit. He has vigorously defended working with ICE to remove illegal immigrants from his county.

At a recent event with Trump, Blakeman claimed approximately 2,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records currently reside in Nassau County.

“Kathy Hochul, where do you want those guns? What neighborhood do you want to destroy? Where do you want those drugs? What community do you want to destroy? Where do you want those illegal immigrants with criminal records to live? You want it back in New York? We say no,” Blakeman said at the time.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a blistering response to Hochul’s sanctuary policies.

“This type of insanity leads to more crimes and more innocent victims,” a department spokesperson said.

The legal battle represents a fundamental clash over whether state officials can prohibit local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. Sheriffs argue they have a constitutional duty to uphold federal law, while the state claims jurisdiction over how local resources are allocated.

The outcome could have far-reaching implications for immigration enforcement nationwide as other blue states watch closely to see whether New York’s aggressive obstruction strategy will withstand federal court scrutiny.

The Constitution must be defended.