Governor Hochul and Attorney General James Release Statement on Lawsuit Challenging 287(G) Ban

Governor Kathy Hochul and New York Attorney General Letitia James today released the following statement after 15 county sheriffs filed a lawsuit challenging the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act’s ban on 287(g) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE):

“As we have said from the start, the ‘Local Cops, Local Crimes Act’ keeps New Yorkers safe by ensuring public safety resources go toward combating crime in our communities, not carrying out the work of ICE. 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.

“Many of the 12 entities with these agreements have complied without incident, and the vast majority of New York’s law enforcement agencies were already successfully protecting their communities without any collaboration with ICE. The claim that these sheriffs cannot do the same says more about them than it does about the law.

“This lawsuit is nothing but a frivolous waste of taxpayer dollars. 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.”