Hochul proposed the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act to void New York’s 287(g) agreements and bar local jails and police from aiding civil immigration enforcement.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Jan. 30 proposed legislation that would bar state and local law enforcement agencies from signing or maintaining agreements that allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to delegate certain immigration enforcement functions to local officers.
The proposal, which Hochul’s office called the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, would void New York’s existing 287(g) agreements and prohibit federal agents from using local detention centers for civil immigration enforcement, including what the governor described as “mass raids” and detainee transport. Hochul’s office said the bill would not prevent state or local police from working with federal law enforcement on criminal investigations.
“Over the last year federal immigration agents have carried out unspeakable acts of violence against Americans under the guise of public safety,” Hochul said in a statement. “These abuses – and the weaponization of local police officers for civil immigration enforcement – will not stand in New York. Today, I’m announcing new actions that will safeguard our communities against dangerous federal overreach and ensure that New York law enforcement is focused on keeping New Yorkers safe – not doing the job of ICE.”
Section 287(g)—added to federal immigration law in 1996—authorizes ICE to delegate specified immigration officer functions to state and local law enforcement officers under ICE direction and oversight, according to the agency.
ICE says the program is intended to partner with local agencies “to identify and remove criminal aliens” who are removable from the United States. ICE also says a 2025 executive order directs the agency to authorize state and local participation in the program “to the maximum extent permitted by law.”
Hochul’s office said 14 New York law enforcement agencies across nine counties have signed 287(g) agreements with ICE. The counties listed by the governor’s office include Broome, Cattaraugus, Madison, Nassau, Niagara, Steuben, Otsego, and Rensselaer.
Participating agencies include the Nassau County Police Department and Nassau County Sheriff’s Office, as well as sheriff’s offices in Broome, Cattaraugus, Madison, Niagara, Otsego, Rensselaer, and Steuben counties, along with several municipal departments. The governor’s office said New York would join seven other states—Washington, Oregon, California, Illinois, New Jersey, Delaware, and Connecticut—that currently prohibit 287(g) agreements.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin responded to Hohchul’s proposal in a statement to The Epoch Times.
“Governor Hochul would make New Yorkers less safe as a direct result of this policy,” she wrote.
“Our partnerships with state and local law enforcement are key to removing criminal illegal aliens including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists from American communities.
“When politicians bar local law enforcement from working with us, that is when we have to have a more visible presence so that we can find and apprehend the criminals let out of jails and back into communities.”
McLaughlin said that “7 of the top 10 safest cities in the United States cooperate with ICE. Instead of working with us, Governor Hochul is choosing to RELEASE violent criminals from her jails directly back into our communities to perpetrate more crimes and create more victims.”
