Nassau silent on ending ICE pact, despite NYS ban

ALBANY — The Nassau County police and sheriff's departments are among six law enforcement agencies across New York State that have not said they will end their cooperation agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, despite a new state law banning those contracts.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James said Friday that only six of the 12 agencies across the state that have signed agreements to assist with civil immigration enforcement met the deadline to inform the state whether they would comply.

The remaining six still have until Aug. 25 to officially end their agreements.

The Office of Immigrant Trust, a new division of the state Attorney General’s Office, sent the 12 agencies letters late last month asking where their agreements with ICE stand, including any ongoing activities under the agreement, as well as steps they have taken to terminate the pacts.

"The safety of New Yorkers is our top priority. That’s why New York passed these laws, why we will enforce them, and why we will continue standing up to federal overreach. Our job is to enforce the law, and that is exactly what we plan on doing," Hochul and James said in a joint statement.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the Republican nominee for governor, has touted his county’s agreement with ICE, calling it the most comprehensive in the country. The county police department deputized 10 officers to assist ICE with its immigration enforcement efforts and rents space at the county jail to the federal agency.

His running mate, Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood, also has an agreement with ICE. Hood told a Syracuse-area media outlet that he would terminate his agreement but said he will still honor any requests from ICE to detain and hand over any undocumented immigrants that come into custody at the Madison County jail.

Blakeman previously said he would consider legal action against the state over the new law.

A spokesperson for Blakeman did not respond to requests for comment Friday. Blakeman and local officials joined President Donald Trump on a tour of the county police department’s facilities at Nassau Community College.

Prior to the tour, Blakeman told reporters, "I'll make a decision after consulting with our lawyers."

The six agencies that told the state they will end their agreements are the sheriff departments for Steuben, Niagara and Madison counties; the Allegany and Mohawk village police departments; and the Camden police department.

In addition to the two Nassau County departments, the other four agencies that have not yet agreed to comply with the state law are the sheriff departments for Broome, Cattaraugus, Otsego and Rensselaer counties.

Hochul signed the law banning formal cooperation agreements with ICE in May as part of the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act.

The legislation is designed to limit state and local involvement in federal civil immigration enforcement. It prohibits state and local employees from questioning people solely for immigration purposes, unless they are required to by a federal judicial warrant, and prohibits government employees from letting ICE agents into schools and other sensitive locations without a judicial warrant.

It does not prevent local law enforcement from working with ICE on criminal matters.

Newsday's Bahar Ostadan contributed to this story.