(The Center Square) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is digging in over claims that state police aren’t cooperating with federal immigration agents and criticizing “renegade” county sheriffs who have signed agreements with ICE to detain undocumented migrants.
Hochul told a progressive podcast host on Sunday that New York policy bars state law enforcement officials from cooperating with the mass deportation efforts unless the suspects are being sought on a criminal warrant.
“Now, what we have are some renegade counties in New York because individual counties can sign a pact with ICE, and we have a lot of them, some on Long Island, some in upstate New York, where there’s different political views,” she said on the David Pakman Show. “They are cooperating with their local police departments, but what I control is the state police, and they will not cooperate in that.”
In recent weeks, the Broome County Sheriff’s Office, Nassau County Sheriff’s Office and Nassau County Police Department have signed agreements to collaborate with the federal agency on immigration enforcement activities, according to ICE records. More than 200 agencies have signed memorandums to cooperate since Trump’s inauguration, increasing the number of participating departments to 360 as of Monday, according to the agency.
Trump’s border czar Tom Homan has warned that the feds will “flood” New York state with ICE agents if Hochul doesn’t cooperate on immigration crackdowns.
“Sanctuary cities are going to get exactly what they don’t want: more agents in the community,” Homan said in remarks earlier this month. “We’ll double the man-force if we have to. Rather than one officer arresting a bad guy, now I have to send a whole team.”
New York Congressman Mike Lawler, a Hudson Valley Republican, took to social media to criticize Hochul for her comments and praise county sheriffs for signing agreements with ICE to cooperate with immigration operations.
“A refusal to have New York State Police cooperate with ICE on deporting violent, illegal immigrants is just downright reckless,” Lawler wrote. “Counties that stand up to protect public safety should be supported.”
In January, the Hochul administration released a list outlining the types of deportation cases in which state law enforcement may be willing to cooperate with federal immigration officials. This list includes situations where a person is suspected of crossing the border without stopping at an official port of entry or reentering the country after being deported.
The new policy allows New York officials to coordinate with ICE when a person’s immigration status is “relevant to the investigation of a crime” committed in the state or if that person is suspected of a “multinational” criminal activity, such as working for a drug cartel.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, has pledged to collaborate with Trump to deport criminals as his city continues to grapple with the $1 billion-per-year cost of caring for tens of thousands of asylum seekers.
A recent Siena College poll found a majority of New Yorkers want the state to support Trump’s efforts to deport migrants.
