New York State sues upstate sheriff’s office over cooperation with ICE

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James have sued Rensselaer County’s sheriff alleging his office is in violation of a ban on local ICE agreements.The lawsuit filed Thursday alleges that the Rensselaer County Sheriff Office is failing to comply with New York’s Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, which requires local law enforcement agencies to dissolve so-called 287(g) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement then allow local cops to be deputized for immigration enforcement actions.
“Compliance with the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act is not optional, Hochul said in a statement. “Rensselaer County’s failure to act in accordance with the law sends a clear message: these elected leaders are not serious about New Yorkers’ safety.”
In the complaint, James said Rensselaer County has had a 287(g) agreement since 2018, which allows sheriff’s deputies to identify immigrants in the county jail and initiate immigration enforcement proceedings against them, often by calling ICE to take them into custody. Twelve other jurisdictions had 287(g) agreements with ICE, but the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office is the only one that refused to terminate their contract, according to the complaint.
The AG’s office sent a notification to the Rensselaer County Sheriff Kyle Bourgault, warning him of the Aug. 25 deadline to comply with the new law, but said the request was ignored, the complaint alleges.
“Meanwhile, officials in Rensselaer County have made public statements indicating their intent to defy the law, with one telling a reporter that OAG and the Governor’s Office “could take that letter, crumple it up and shove it,” she wrote in the complaint.
The lawsuit adds to a rising mountain of litigation surrounding the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, which also bans ICE agents from wearing masks and restricts ICE’s access to schools, churches, courthouses and other “sensitive” locations.
Two days ago, Bourgault and 14 other sheriffs sued New York State in federal court claiming the ban on ICE agreements is an illegal overreach by the state government that interferes with contractual agreements between counties and the federal government.
“This isn’t just about 287(g),” Bourgault said in remarks Tuesday. “This is about tools being taken away from law enforcement to safely protect the people they are closest to.”
In a previous statement, Hochul and James called the sheriffs’ lawsuit “nothing but a frivolous waste of taxpayer dollars” and said the 287 (g) ban “keeps New Yorkers safe by ensuring public safety resources go toward combating crime in our communities, not carrying out the work of ICE.”
New York is also being sued by the Department of Justice over the new law, and federal prosecutors recently secured an injunction temporarily blocking a ban on ICE agents from wearing masks during immigration enforcement operations. James has filed a countersuit to uphold the law.

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