New York tells 12 agencies to unwind ICE 287(g) agreements by Aug. 25

New York Attorney General Letitia James’ new Office of Immigrant Trust has begun enforcing a state law that requires 12 local law-enforcement agencies to unwind their agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The office sent compliance notices on July 24 informing the agencies that existing agreements under Section 287(g) of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act must be terminated under New York law. The agencies must report the status of their agreements, any ongoing activities and the steps taken toward termination by 5 p.m. Eastern on Aug. 14, 2026. Existing covered 287(g) agreements are scheduled to become void and unenforceable on Aug. 25, 2026.

The notices are the first public enforcement action by the Office of Immigrant Trust, a statewide bureau within the attorney general’s office created under legislation signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul on May 27 as part of the state’s fiscal 2027 budget legislation.

Which agencies received notices

The attorney general’s 24-page compliance-letter packet identifies these 12 New York agencies as having existing 287(g) agreements with ICE:

Nassau County Police Department
Nassau County Sheriff’s Office
Mohawk Village Police Department
Madison County Sheriff’s Office
Niagara County Sheriff’s Office
Steuben County Sheriff’s Office
Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office
Camden Police Department
Broome County Sheriff’s Office
Allegany Village Police Department
Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office
Otsego County Sheriff’s Office

The notices are compliance requests and information demands. They do not state that all 12 agencies have already terminated their agreements, and they do not announce final findings that any of the agencies violated state law.

What the New York law changes

The Local Cops, Local Crimes Act added Executive Law Section 170-k. The law applies statewide to local governments, law-enforcement agencies and certain correctional and youth facilities. It bars covered entities from entering into, modifying, renewing, remaining in or extending agreements under Section 287(g), including formal or informal arrangements under which local officers or employees may assist with civil immigration enforcement or perform functions of federal immigration officers.

Section 287(g) agreements can authorize participating local personnel to assist with certain federal civil immigration-enforcement functions. The state law also addresses contracts and other arrangements to house or detain people for federal civil immigration violations.

The immediate restrictions took effect when Hochul signed the legislation on May 27. The attorney general’s notices say local officials may not conduct civil immigration enforcement under a 287(g) agreement, including arresting someone based on a civil ICE warrant or detainer request or stopping and questioning someone in the community based on a suspicion that the person lacks lawful immigration status.

The law treats existing agreements differently from the immediate prohibition on new or continuing covered activity. Agreements that were in force when the law was enacted must be treated as inconsistent with state law, and the agencies must use any applicable termination provisions. Under the 90-day transition rule, those existing agreements become void and unenforceable in their entirety on Aug. 25.

The statute includes limited exceptions. It does not prevent health-care facilities from entering agreements to provide health care, authorized child-welfare agencies from providing care or placement to children in the custody of the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, or federal law-enforcement agencies from contracting for detention space for people facing pending federal criminal charges. Such criminal-detention agreements cannot be used to house people solely for civil immigration violations. The law also does not prohibit compliance with a state or federal court order, judicial warrant or other legal requirement.

What agencies must submit by Aug. 14

The attorney general’s letters ask each agency to provide a written response, documents or both sufficient to show its current activities under the agreement, the agreement’s status and the steps or plans for termination.

Responses are due by Friday, Aug. 14, at 5 p.m. Eastern to the Office of Immigrant Trust at Immigrant.Trust@ag.ny.gov. The same email address is listed for agency questions and compliance assistance.

The Aug. 14 deadline is separate from the Aug. 25 legal deadline. Agencies are being asked to report their status before existing covered agreements become void and unenforceable under state law.

What happens next

The attorney general’s announcement says the Office of Immigrant Trust can receive complaints, investigate potential violations, review records, interview witnesses, issue subpoenas and bring civil actions when warranted. The office’s authority covers potential violations involving state and local entities, officers, employees, contractors and schools, subject to the statutory procedures and limitations.

Residents who believe a state or local agency, employee, contractor, school or other covered entity has violated New York’s civil immigration-enforcement laws can contact the attorney general’s hotline at 1-800-771-7755. The office said it plans to launch an online civil complaint form in the coming weeks; that form was not described as available yet.

Resistance and unresolved legal issues

The Times Union reported that Rensselaer County Executive Steven McLaughlin and Sheriff Kyle Bourgault said the county would not end its ICE agreement. County officials have called the state law illegal and have discussed challenging it in court.

The newspaper also reported that the U.S. Department of Justice is pursuing a constitutional challenge in federal court, while the attorney general’s office disputes that position. Those are litigation arguments in a pending case, not a final court ruling. Unless a court changes the law or blocks its enforcement, the Aug. 14 reporting deadline and Aug. 25 agreement deadline remain the operative dates identified in the state notices.

Sources

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