New York sheriffs sue Hochul over ban on ICE agreements

(The Center Square) – A group of New York sheriffs are suing the Hochul administration over a new law that bars them from entering into agreements with the federal government to help enforce immigration.

A lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court on Wednesday by Rensselaer County Sheriff Kyle Bourgault and more than a dozen other sheriffs, alleges that a provision of the newly enacted Local Cops Local Crimes Act banning so-called 287 (g) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is an illegal overreach by the state government that interferes with contractual agreements between counties and the federal government.

The sheriffs, who are being represented by the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said new restrictions “nullify the ability of independently elected constitutional officers to enter into contracts authorized by federal law.”

“In doing so, they subject those officers’ core law-enforcement judgments to centralized state oversight and control,” FAIR’s Attorney Mateo Forero wrote in the 60-page complaint. “The resulting harm is imminent and irreparable.”

FAIR Executive Director and General Counsel Dale L. Wilcox, said New York’s restrictions go beyond refusing to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement actions, but “actively dismantles existing, congressionally authorized partnerships that sheriffs lawfully entered to protect their communities.”

“Independently elected sheriffs should not be forced by Albany to abandon tools that keep dangerous criminal aliens from walking back onto their streets,” Wilcox said. “This lawsuit seeks to restore the status quo and vindicate the independence of the Office of Sheriff.”

The lawsuit, which seeks a temporary injunction blocking the 287 (g) agreement ban from being enforced, was filed after Hochul and New York Attorney General Letitia James held a press briefing, threatening to take legal action against a handful of sheriffs who hadn’t said they would comply with the new rules. Tuesday was the deadline set by the Hochul administration, and at least 11 sheriffs said, agreed to cooperate.

Hochul and James issued a joint statement late Tuesday in response to the legal challenge, defending the new law and dismissing the claims in the sheriffs’ lawsuit.

“This lawsuit is nothing but a frivolous waste of taxpayer dollars,” the Democrats said. “The courts have already declined to block this law once, and we are confident they will do so again. In the meantime, we expect all law enforcement agencies in New York to uphold state law.”

The new law “keeps New Yorkers safe by ensuring public safety resources go toward combating crime in our communities, not carrying out the work of ICE,” Hochul and James said.

“The federal government claims they are going after the ‘worst of the worst,’ but every American has seen the reality: ICE is terrorizing communities and families with indiscriminate raids, detaining people without regard for criminal record, and using local law enforcement to deliver on the administration’s mass deportation agenda,” they said.

Earlier this month, James and Hochul put sheriffs on notice that they have until Aug. 25 to terminate the 287(g) agreements and provide documentation verifying it or face legal action by the state to force their compliance.

This week, James issued subpoenas to sheriff’s offices of Broome, Steuben, Nassau and Rensselaer counties, and Nassau County Police Department, demanding that they comply with the ban on ICE pacts.

The new law is being challenged in court by the Department of Justice, which recently secured an injunction temporarily blocking a ban on ICE agents from wearing masks during immigration enforcement operations. New York has filed a countersuit to uphold the law.

(Photo Attribution: Nick.Allen, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons)