New York Governor Kathy Hochul is using her 2027 budget request to push new restrictions targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the Empire State, testing the limits of her authority to impose requirements on federal agencies — a test that experts say is doomed from its outset.
The Local Cops Local Crimes Act would block local law enforcement from acting on behalf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Alongside a proposed ban on masks and new operational limits in certain settings, Hochul’s efforts continue Democrats’ efforts to use state-level policies to push back on President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
“ICE will no longer be able to use our police, our jails and our resources to carry out civil immigration enforcement. Because guess what: Our officers paid for by local taxpayer dollars were hired to protect their communities, to be there to assist with a traffic accident, to go after retail theft, stop domestic violence,” Hochul said at a press event on Thursday.
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“They’re not there to do the federal government’s bidding.”
Since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term, governors in states like Illinois, California and Virginia have thrown up barriers to local-federal immigration cooperation by limiting communication, data sharing and more.
In Hochul’s case, the Local Cops Local Crimes Act rescinds and prevents the expansion of any new agreements under the 287(g) program — a federal law that allows local officers to assume authority to conduct immigration-related work that is normally carried out by federal officials.
It also comes alongside a slew of separate immigration-related reforms Hochul is pressing for, including establishing a state right to sue ICE for “constitutional violations,” a prohibition on masks for local and federal law enforcement and a restriction that would prevent ICE from entering schools, libraries, polling locations and homes without a judicial warrant.
Hans von Spakovsky, a legal scholar with Advancing American Freedom, believes those additional changes won’t survive long — even if they do become law.
“If the question is: can she do any of that? The answer is no. This is not an ambiguous issue,” Spakovsky said.
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Spakovsky, pointing to the 1890 Supreme Court case In re Neagle, said states can’t hold federal agents responsible for carrying out federal mandates.
The Local Cops Local Crimes Act stipulates that local law enforcement would still have to comply with warrants issued for an immigration-related arrest.
“Nothing in this section shall be intended to limit local government law, law enforcement agency, correctional facility, or local correctional facility from enforcing any valid state or federal court-issued warrants or orders, or any other actions as required by law,” the bill reads.
Even so, Laurin Bis, acting assistant secretary for public affairs for the Department of Homeland Security, blasted Hochul’s announcement, calling it a dangerous development for NYC residents.
“Governor Hochul’s policies of not cooperating with ICE put New Yorkers in danger. When politicians bar local law enforcement from working with DHS, our law enforcement officers have to have a more visible presence so that we can find and apprehend the criminals let out of jails and back into communities,” Bis said.
Bis said DHS feared that NYC would end up allowing more immigration-law violators back onto the street.
“Instead of working with us, Governor Hochul is choosing to release violent criminals from her jails directly back into our communities to perpetrate more crimes and create more victims.”
Hochul’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on whether New York would refuse to hold suspects in violation of immigration law.
The office also did not respond to questions about why the Local Cops Local Crimes Act had been included alongside the 2027 budget request.
