New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James on Friday ordered 12 local law enforcement agencies to end their formal 287(g) cooperation agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by August 25. The directive is part of the state’s “Local Cops, Local Crimes Act,” which bans local police from participating in federal civil immigration enforcement.
[NOTE: In a press release, James described the action as an initiative of the new state Office of Immigrant Trust (OIT), which she said “will help ensure that schools, local governments, and public agencies remain places of safety and support, rather than agents of the federal administration’s campaign of fear and intimidation.”]
When one local law enforcement agency — the Rensselaer Sheriff’s Department –said it will refuse to terminate its agreement with ICE, Hochul warned: “Let me be very clear: no county, no county executive, no sheriff is above the law.”
After at least one local law enforcement agency (Rensselaer Sheriff’s Department) vowed not to terminate its 287(g) agreement with ICE, Gov. Hochul doubles down on the new law. “Let me be very clear: no county, no county executive, no sheriff is above the law.” pic.twitter.com/0oMqQeruVg
— Rebecca C. Lewis (@_rebeccaclewis) July 28, 2026
Republican U.S. Representative Mike Lawler (R-NY), who passed on a chance to run for governor against Hochul and is instead running for re-election to Congress, responded to Hochul’s warning on social media, writing: “No one is above the law except of course in the state of New York where they refuse to prosecute violent criminals, refuse to cooperate with federal law enforcement, and refuse to root out things like Medicaid fraud.”
Lawler added: “What Hochul is doing is effectively preventing local law enforcement from cooperating with federal law enforcement in cases where someone violates state law. Her position is, no matter the crime, you cannot turn them over. In fact NY has refused to honor over 7,000+ detainers for criminally convicted illegals since last year. Ask yourself why a criminal illegal would have more rights and protections than a citizen, let alone the victims.”
You just can’t seem to wrap your tiny hands around this one.
Nothing in New York law prevents violent criminals from being prosecuted. Zero.
The only thing New York won’t do is force local police to do civil immigration enforcement.
You’d think a sitting member of Congress… https://t.co/bgPEMf2vDt
— Governor Hochul Press Office (@NYGovPress) July 28, 2026
Hochul’s press office replied to Lawler: “You just can’t seem to wrap your tiny hands around this one. Nothing in New York law prevents violent criminals from being prosecuted. Zero. The only thing New York won’t do is force local police to do civil immigration enforcement. You’d think a sitting member of Congress would understand the difference.”
Lawler replied: “Our Governor is a complete moron.” He added, “It’s pretty simple, if someone is sitting in a jail, arrested by local law enforcement, for a crime committed under state law, it stands to reason that they should be turned over to federal law enforcement when a detainer request is issued. Hochul’s law prohibits law enforcement from doing that. They will only honor a federal criminal warrant, which is only issued for federal crimes, not state. Stop lying to people and gaslighting everyone. You have already refused over 7,000 detainers on criminal illegal aliens since last year.”
The New York Attorney General’s office website cites the Tenth Amendment on a page where it details its policies on cooperation with federal law enforcement on certain actions.
The AG’s office writes: “The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution limits the federal government’s ability to mandate particular action by states and localities, including in the area of federal immigration law enforcement and investigations. The federal government cannot ‘compel the States to enact or administer a federal regulatory program,’ or compel state employees to participate in the administration of a federally enacted regulatory scheme. Importantly, these Tenth Amendment protections extend not only to states but to localities and their employees. Voluntary cooperation with a federal scheme does not present Tenth Amendment issues, but any such cooperation must be examined for compliance with other federal, state, and local laws.”