Lawmakers make surprise visit to Nassau jail as law banning ICE-county agreements looms

The number of immigrants held at the Nassau County jail as part of an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has dropped sharply this year, a sign the county may be phasing out its partnership with the federal agency before a state-imposed Aug. 25 deadline to end such pacts, some Democratic officials said Friday.

Citing statistics she received from the county sheriff's office, State Sen. Julia Salazar (D-Brooklyn) told reporters that the number has fallen from about 2,400 from all of last year to 1,000 so far this year.

Salazar said conditions for immigrants at the jail have improved since she visited it a year ago, and that she hopes the lower number of detainees means Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman will be shutting down the operation as required under a new state law.

There were no ICE detainees at the facility on Friday when Salazar, Assemb. Michaelle C. Solages (D-Elmont) and other officials made a surprise visit, Salazar said.

“For me, the biggest improvement is the fact that there are not detainees here at the moment, and it is certainly my hope that the county will voluntarily comply with the law in a few weeks,” Salazar said outside the Nassau County Correctional Center in East Meadow. “If not, of course the [state] Attorney General’s Office has the power and the intention to enforce the law and require them to comply.” 

Blakeman did not respond directly to questions Friday on whether he will shut down the ICE jail partnership by Aug. 25. He has previously said he will challenge the new law in court but will adhere to it if he loses.

“I took an oath of office to follow the law, even if I don’t agree with it,” Blakeman said in late July. “So yes, I will follow the law.”

Blakeman last year signed an agreement with ICE, known as a 287(g), that allocated 50 jail cells for the federal agency to hold immigrants for a maximum of 72 hours. The federal government pays Nassau $195 per ICE detainee per night, Blakeman has said.

A sweeping anti-ICE law passed by the State Legislature and signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul in late May prohibits 287(g) agreements with counties in New York, including ones already signed. That means Blakeman must end the jail partnership by Aug. 25, Salazar and Solages said.

“I hope that Nassau County severs this contract and complies with the state law so that we don’t have to keep coming back here and doing visits,” Solages said.

Nassau also has another 287(g) agreement under which it can deputize some police officers as ICE agents. Blakeman, a Republican and gubernatorial candidate, has said he is a strong supporter of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.

“Because of Nassau County’s cooperation with ICE, over 2,000 illegal migrants with criminal records have been removed from our county making the entire region safer,” Blakeman said in a statement Friday. “New York Democrats need to explain to the victims of attempted murder, rape, robbery and carjacking, why local law enforcement can’t coordinate with ICE in removing these dangerous criminals from our neighborhoods.”

Suffolk County Legis. Samuel Gonzalez (D-Brentwood), who was part of the group that visited the jail Friday, said that contrary to Blakeman’s assertions about detainees, “many of them do not have a criminal record. Is working 24 hours a day, seven days a week a criminal record? Is working two jobs a criminal record? Is walking to your grocery store and supermarket and getting stopped and arrested a criminal record? I want to see the proof.”

Newsday has reported that less than 5% of the thousands of immigrants held in the Nassau jail through the ICE partnership were convicted of violent crimes.

There had been four ICE detainees in the jail early Friday morning, but they were released by the time Salazar, Solages, Gonzalez and Assemb. Noah Burroughs (D-Hempstead) arrived around 9:45 a.m., the officials said.

“When we came here the last time, it was utter chaos,” Solages said. “This time, it seemed like there was a process, it seemed like there was knowledge.”

Some detainees were being held beyond the 72-hour limit last year, Salazar and Solages said, while others were denied regular access to showers and sufficient time outside their cells. Blakeman has said there was no evidence the jail was violating the 72-hour limit.

Gonzalez said, “I’m pleased to see how things have changed. But still Nassau County is still using resources to assist ICE and arresting our immigrants.”