New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James have formally notified county officials that they must terminate any agreements allowing local jails to hold people solely for federal civil immigration violations by November 25 under the state’s Local Cops, Local Crimes Act.
In a letter sent through the Attorney General’s Office of Immigrant Trust, the state told county executives and sheriffs that after that date such contracts are void and unenforceable under New York law, and that officials must use any available termination provisions to end them.
Hochul framed the directive as a matter of public safety priorities, saying in a press release that local law enforcement “should be focused on protecting New Yorkers and keeping dangerous criminals off our streets, not helping ICE carry out their aggressive deportation agenda.”
The governor added that “allowing ICE to utilize our local jails for civil immigration detention does not make New York safer.”
The Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, signed by Hochul on May 27, prohibits local governments and law enforcement agencies from entering into, modifying, renewing, extending, or remaining in any contract or intergovernmental service agreement to house or detain individuals for federal civil immigration violations.
It covers both formal and informal arrangements, including those under sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act that authorize such detention.
The law also restricts 287(g) agreements that deputize local officers to perform certain immigration functions.
Counties with mixed contracts that cover both criminal and civil detention must end only the portion authorizing civil immigration holds.
Exceptions remain for detaining individuals facing pending federal criminal charges and for complying with state or federal court orders or judicial warrants.
James’s office said that “local officials should not be doing the work of federal immigration authorities” and that “taxpayer resources should be dedicated solely to keeping our communities safe.”
The Attorney General’s Office of Immigrant Trust can receive complaints, investigate, issue subpoenas, and bring civil actions to force compliance.
The notice follows a federal judge’s November 4 denial of a preliminary injunction sought by roughly 15 New York sheriffs, led by Rensselaer County Sheriff Kyle Bourgault, who argued the law interferes with their authority and existing federal agreements.
U.S. District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino ruled that the sheriffs had not shown they were likely to win their constitutional claims against the state at this stage, leaving the restrictions in place while the broader lawsuit continues.
Hochul’s office celebrated the decision, saying it preserves “critical protections” against what it called ICE’s “aggressive and abusive enforcement tactics.”
The post Kathy Hochul and Letitia James Order New York Counties to Sever ICE Jail Agreements by November 25 or Face State Action appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.