(The Center Square) — Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to prohibit local law enforcement from being deputized by ICE for federal civil immigration enforcement.
Legislation filed by the governor on Friday would sharply limit state and local law enforcement cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement by prohibiting the federal agency from deputizing local police to help detain undocumented immigrants. Under the bill, local cops would be barred from acting as federal agents or using taxpayer funds and resources for civil immigration enforcement.
“This is about a rogue federal agency that’s been unleashed on American streets for the sole purpose of creating chaos, carnage and fear,” Hochul said in remarks Friday. “The Trump administration has encouraged these agents to treat the American people — to treat the American people as if they are the enemy. They’ve created a culture that has no restraint.”
Hochul said the plan wouldn’t prohibit state or local law enforcement officials from cooperating with federal authorities seeking undocumented criminals but doesn’t want them cooperating with ICE agents in detaining and deporting “otherwise law-abiding” New Yorkers.
“When individuals enter this country illegally and commit crimes, I want them arrested and tried,” she said in her remarks. “If they’re convicted, they must be imprisoned and deported. That’s what we’ve been doing for decades here.”
The election year proposal is a direct shot across the bow at Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, Hochul’s GOP rival in the upcoming election, who recently signed an agreement with ICE to allow them to operate in his county. He vowed to repeal the law, if approved, if he wins.
“Kathy Hochul is the most pro-criminal governor in the United States who has a callous disregard for the safety of our communities and victims of crime,” Blakeman said in a statement. “By banning local law enforcement partnerships with ICE, Hochul is allowing dangerous criminals to return to our neighborhoods. That ends when I’m Governor.”
Nassau County is one of eight NY counties that have signed so-called 287(g) agreements with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that allow local cops to be deputized by ICE for immigration enforcement.
Last year, Blakeman was praised by conservatives after he and Nassau County Sheriff Anthony LaRocco moved to deputize private citizens as “provisional deputies” to assist with law enforcement operations.
The move drew immediate backlash from Democrats and civil liberties groups, who decried it as an “illegal, taxpayer-funded militia.” Blakeman dismissed the criticism as politically motivated and argued that the program would provide “another layer of protection” for the county during emergencies.
