Two New York counties are suing Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul to stop a new state law that bars them from working with federal immigration officers.
Officials of Rensselaer County and Broome County have announced that they intend to join a federal lawsuit challenging the new state law sponsored by state Democrats, according to PIX 11.
The federal lawsuit seeks to void a New York state law that bars police departments and other state law enforcement agencies from entering into the federal 287(g) program which formalizes a working relationship between the departments and federal immigration law enforcement branches.
Officials of Nassau County have also expressed interest in the lawsuit, but have not yet committed to joining the other two counties in the filing.
The law, called the Local Crimes, Local Cop Act, went into effect on August 25, and would summarily nullify agreements with ICE that are already in place for 13 New York counties.
“Local police will assist ICE only if a real crime has been committed,” Gov. Hochul said. “But on civil immigration matters, ICE is on their own.”
The New York Attorney General’s Office has also issued subpoenas to the counties that have not yet officially confirmed that they have terminated any agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or will abide by newly implemented state law.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who is running for Gov. against Hochul, strenuously opposed the Local Crimes, Local Cop Act and says that his county has taken a serious bite out of crime by working with ICE.
“We got rid of 2,000 illegal migrants with criminal records in Nassau County without raiding a church, a school, a daycare center, a hospital, because we cooperated with ICE,” Blakeman recently said.
Blakeman also railed against Hochul and said her law will make New Yorkers less safe.
“Kathy Hochul, where do you want those guns? What neighborhood do you want to destroy? Where do you want those drugs? What community do you want to destroy? Where do you want those illegal migrants with criminal records to live? You want them back in New York? We say no!” he said at a recent rally.
Hochul, though, is warning the counties to knuckle under to the new law and said of any lawsuit filed to stop her law: “Bring it on.”
“No county executive should think that they are above the law in the state of New York,” the Gov. said. “The attorney general will be fully responsible for enforcement.”
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: Facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston, Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston, or at X/Twitter @WTHuston