New York’s Fight Over Whether to Aid ICE Heats Up in Albany

As federal immigration officials boast of increased arrests across New York and the nation, a debate over whether and how local authorities should cooperate is intensifying at the New York State Capitol.

Progressive Democrats are pushing for legislation that would prevent state and local law enforcement agencies from aiding Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations by restricting what information is shared, arguing it’s the state’s responsibility to protect immigrants living in New York from deportation.

At the same time, some local law enforcement officials in conservative-leaning upstate areas argue that state laws already go too far by limiting federal authorities’ access to documents like motor vehicle records, making it harder to identify people in traffic stops near the border. They plan to lobby state lawmakers to change the law in the other direction.

The friction crystallized last week in Tompkins County, which has sanctuary laws that limit local officials’ coordination with ICE. Federal authorities said that county officials released a Mexican man from the county jail after he pleaded guilty to a state assault charge – even though federal authorities sent a warrant for his arrest.

Officers from ICE and the U.S. Marshals arrested Jesus Romero-Hernandez on Thursday in Ithaca, federal prosecutors said, and he was charged with illegally re-entering the United States after being previously deported in 2016. Efforts to reach Romero-Hernandez weren’t successful.

Acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove said federal prosecutors were looking into the circumstances surrounding Romero-Hernandez’s release.

“The Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office in Ithaca, NY, a self-described sanctuary city, appears to have failed to honor a valid federal arrest warrant for a criminal alien with an assault conviction,” Bove said in a statement. “The Justice Department will not tolerate actions that endanger law enforcement and make their jobs harder than they already are, as they work to protect us all.”

Tompkins County Sheriff Derek Osborne didn’t return messages seeking comment. In a statement, a county spokesperson said deputies followed the county’s sanctuary law.

“There was no interference with federal immigration enforcement efforts,” spokesperson Shannon Alvord said. “In contrast, Immigration and Customs Enforcement knew exactly when the individual in question was going to be released and had every opportunity to come to the Tompkins County jail to obtain the individual in question without any need for a pursuit or other incident.”

In 2017, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order prohibiting state law enforcement officers from inquiring about a person’s immigration status in most cases, including when that person “approaches a law enforcement officer seeking assistance, is the victim of a crime, or is a witness to a crime.” Hochul re-upped the policy when she took office in 2021.

But on the local level, policies differ from county to county or even city to city.

A group of state lawmakers and immigrants’ rights advocates are backing the New York For All Act, a wide-ranging bill intended to block state and local officials from cooperating with federal immigration enforcers, except in cases where a judge issues a warrant.

The bill specifically prohibits state and local government employees — including police officers — from using any public resources for “immigration enforcement,” and from providing immigration authorities with any information they learned through the course of their job. It also prohibits state employees from allowing law enforcement officers who aren’t from the local jurisdiction into non-public areas of state facilities without a judicial warrant.

“I think what we’re looking for right now is people to lead,” said Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition. “ We need our state resources to help and uplift New Yorkers, not use our state resources to harm New Yorkers.”

Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-Brooklyn) sponsors the bill alongside Assemblymember Karines Reyes (D-Bronx). The bill has support from a broad swath of Democrats in the Legislature, with more than 20 cosponsors in the Senate and 50 in the Assembly.

Gounardes said the premise is simple: State and local governments “should not be doing the job of federal immigration authorities.”

“It actually is a public safety issue,” he said. “If immigrants feel as if they cannot approach local law enforcement to share information or to report a crime, they’re going to stay in the shadows, making it more difficult for police to actually do their jobs.”

In the case of the Tompkins County arrest, ICE presented the county with a warrant for Romero-Hernandez that was signed by a magistrate judge, according to federal prosecutors. They didn’t say when the warrant was signed or provide a copy when asked.

Hochul’s spokesperson Avi Small said the governor would review the legislation if it passes. Last week, the Democratic governor articulated her own policy on when the state can cooperate with immigration authorities.

That includes cases where a person is convicted of a New York state crime or suspected of an immigration crime, like crossing the border without stopping at a port of entry.

”It’s our responsibility to make sure that people who are criminals, especially serious criminals, are removed from our society to make sure that they don’t hurt either the undocumented community that they live with or citizens on the streets,” Hochul said Monday, adding that the state will not help remove immigrants who are “law-abiding.”

While local jurisdictions like Tompkins County and New York City have sanctuary policies, other jurisdictions, usually run by Republicans, are eager to cooperate with ICE.

Rensselaer County Sheriff Kyle Bourgault said deputies at his jail have been trained by ICE to check the names of people held in its custody through the agency’s database to see if they are actively wanted. He said the move – which the New York for All Act would prohibit – supports public safety.

“For me this program makes sense because it’s no different than checking someone who goes into our jail to see if they have a warrant out in another jurisdiction,” Bourgault said. “Why would I want to release someone from my jail who’s a threat to my community?”

Bourgault and Fulton County Sheriff Richard Giardino met with other sheriffs last week at a conference near the state Capitol. Both said that Trump’s election has prompted them to push for changes to the 2019 “Green Light Law” that allows undocumented immigrants to get New York driver’s licenses. The law also prohibits the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles from giving access to immigration agents unless they have a warrant or subpoena for a specific record.

Trump’s border czar Tom Homan criticized that law during a January interview with the Buffalo News. Homan, who grew up in New York, said changing the law was a “high priority.” The status quo makes it harder for the border patrol to do its job, Homan said.

Giardino said he was sympathetic to immigrants who are seeking asylum and seeking to build new lives in the United States. But he said law enforcement officials needed tools to catch people with criminal records within that population.

“ You have no understanding of the width, breadth and depth of individuals with criminal records coming into our country,” he said. “So that’s problematic for us in law enforcement.”

Story by Jimmy Vielkind and Jon Campbell
Jimmy Vielkind covers how state government and politics affect people throughout New York. He has covered Albany since 2008, most recently as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal.

Jon Campbell covers the New York State Capitol for WNYC and Gothamist. Prior to that, he covered the Capitol for more than a decade for the USA TODAY Network.

Image Credit: Amanda Mason/ICE Public Affairs