Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York Attorney General Letitia James have filed a lawsuit against the Rensselaer County Sheriff's Office, alleging it failed to comply with a new state law requiring local law enforcement agencies to end certain agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The lawsuit centers on New York's Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, which required local law enforcement agencies to terminate agreements made under Section 287(g) of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act by Aug. 25, 2026.
The law prohibits local governments and law enforcement agencies from entering into or remaining in such agreements with ICE.
What are 287(g) agreements?
Section 287(g) agreements allow state and local law enforcement officers to perform certain federal civil immigration
enforcement functions.
Depending on the terms of an agreement, local officers may be authorized to question, arrest and detain people suspected of violating federal civil immigration law.
The Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, signed by Hochul on May 27, gave agencies with existing agreements 90 days to begin the process of ending them.
Under the law, covered agreements that remained in effect after Aug. 25 are considered void and unenforceable under New York law.
Why is New York suing the Rensselaer County Sheriff's Office?
The Rensselaer County Sheriff's Office has maintained a 287(g) agreement with ICE since March 2020, according to the governor's and attorney general's offices.
After the new law was enacted, the attorney general's office contacted the sheriff's office seeking information about the status of the agreement. State officials said they did not receive confirmation that the agreement had been terminated or would be terminated by the Aug. 25 deadline.
On Aug. 19, the attorney general's office issued a formal investigative demand seeking documents showing what actions the sheriff's office had taken to end the agreement, according to the state.
State officials said they still have not received confirmation that the agreement was terminated.
"Compliance with the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act is not optional," Hochul said in a statement. "Today, we are taking action to ensure the Rensselaer County Sheriff's Office performs the duties required of it under state law, because no one in New York State is above the law."
James said the lawsuit is intended to enforce the state's law.
"All law enforcement agencies are expected to uphold New York's laws," James said. "The Rensselaer County Sheriff's Office has been given every opportunity to follow the law, yet has chosen not to."
Rensselaer County is the only agency that has not indicated it will end its agreement
Of the 12 law enforcement agencies in New York that had 287(g) agreements before the new law took effect, the Rensselaer County Sheriff's Office is the only one that has not indicated it intends to end its agreement, according to state officials.
The lawsuit asks the Rensselaer County Supreme Court to order the sheriff's office to exercise the termination provisions in its agreement with ICE and declare the agreement void and unenforceable under state law.
What is New York's Office of Immigrant Trust?
The lawsuit is the first legal action brought by the attorney general's newly established Office of Immigrant Trust.
The office was created to enforce New York laws limiting state and local involvement in federal civil immigration enforcement. It is authorized to investigate potential violations and bring civil lawsuits when appropriate.
Federal government also challenged New York's law
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit in June challenging New York's Local Cops, Local Crimes Act.
Earlier this month, however, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York denied the federal government's request to block the state's ban on 287(g) agreements, allowing the Aug. 25 deadline to remain in effect.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Hochul, James sue Rensselaer County sheriff over ICE agreement
