Sheriffs lose fight to keep ICE partnerships

A federal judge has rejected a request by 15 New York county sheriffs to block the enforcement of Governor Kathy Hochul’s law restricting local police's agreements with federal immigration authorities. The judge's order leaves the state's prohibition on 287(g) agreements in place.

U.S. District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino denied the sheriffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction Nov. 4, finding that they had not established that they had the legal authority to bring their constitutional claims against the state. The ruling did not resolve whether the law itself is constitutional.

The ruling drew praise from Hochul, who said that her office was confident that the courts would reject the effort to block the law.

“This decision ensures that critical protections remain in place for New Yorkers against ICE’s aggressive and abusive enforcement tactics,” a spokesperson said in a statement. 

Challenge led by Rensselaer County Sheriff

The lawsuit, led by Rensselaer County Sheriff Kyle Bourgault, challenged the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, which Hochul signed May 27. The law prohibits local governments and law enforcement agencies from entering into agreements with ICE under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, in which municipalities detain federal immigration arrests in local jails. 

The sheriffs argued that the state law interferes with federal authority and infringes on their powers as independently elected officials.

D’Agostino found that New York law generally prevents local governments and their officials from challenging state legislation on constitutional grounds, and that the sheriffs had not demonstrated that they qualified for an exception. 

Rensselaer County has been among the law's most outspoken opponents. Bourgault's office entered its first 287(g) agreement in 2018 and signed its current agreement in March 2020. He has maintained that the department doesn’t arrest people in the community, but screens people already in custody.

In a statement following the ruling, Bourgault said his office was reviewing the decision and considering its next steps. He defended the screening process as a way to identify outstanding warrants and criminal histories before people are released.

“The state has yet to tell us how they are improving safety by not allowing screening of illegal migrants,” he said. 

New York State Attorney General Letitia James welcomed the decision, writing on social media Nov. 4 that local law enforcement should focus on public safety rather than participate in the federal government's mass deportation agenda.

“We will continue to defend our laws in court,” James wrote.

Rapid expansion of federal immigration enforcement

The legislation followed a rapid expansion of 287(g) agreements across New York amid increased federal immigration enforcement. As of 2025, 14 municipalities had entered into the program, most of them upstate.

The agreements provide federal reimbursement for participating departments' officer salaries and benefits. Counties can also receive up to $195 per detainee per day for housing people on behalf of ICE. Meanwhile, immigration detention in New York increased sharply in 2025, with the number of people held in state and local jails by ICE rising nearly 600 percent.

When announcing the legislation alongside Hochul in January, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch argued that local police departments should not be made responsible for the consequences of federal immigration operations. New York City has not entered a 287(g) agreement. 

“Plain and simple, in 2026, local police departments should not be turned into federal immigration agents,” Tisch said. “When federal immigration operations come into a city and generate fear, anger, unrest, local police do not get to walk away from the consequences.”