STATEWIDE — GOV. KATHY HOCHUL on Friday proposed legislation to prohibit local law enforcement from being deputized by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for federal immigration enforcement, and other constitutional protections.
The legislation, dubbed the “Local Cops, Local Crimes Act,” would eliminate “287(g)” agreements, which authorize ICE to delegate federal civil immigration authority to state and local police. In New York, 14 law enforcement agencies across nine counties have signed 287(g) agreements with ICE. With this legislation, all of these existing agreements would be void.
The legislation would also prohibit federal agents from using local detention centers for civil immigration enforcement, mass raids or the transportation of detainees, and authorizes New Yorkers to bring state-level civil actions against federal officers who violate their U.S. constitutional rights. Hochul has also proposed legislation to ensure sensitive locations, such as homes, schools and doctors’ offices, are protected from civil immigration enforcement without a judicial warrant.
“Over the last year federal immigration agents have carried out unspeakable acts of violence against Americans under the guise of public safety,” Hochul said in a release. “These abuses — and the weaponization of local police officers for civil immigration enforcement — will not stand in New York.”
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez backed up Hochul’s proposal, saying, “Violence in Brooklyn is at a record low because we earned community trust and protect due process. When victims and witnesses fear that reporting a crime could lead to deportation, or that federal agents can enter a home, school, house of worship or hospital without a judge’s warrant, people stop coming forward, crimes go unsolved and dangerous offenders evade accountability.”
✰✰✰
