Hochul Backs New York Bill Letting Residents Sue ICE Agents Over Alleged Rights Violations After Minneapolis ICE Shooting
Gov. Kathy Hochul has endorsed a bill that would give New Yorkers a private right of action to sue ICE agents for alleged constitutional or other rights violations, a measure Democrats say is part of a broader response to the Minneapolis shooting of Renee Good. The proposal is one element of a multiâstate Democratic pushâalongside Oregon and California bills, New Jersey sanctuary measures, and a Maryland proposal to âdigitally unmaskâ agentsâthat raises novel constitutional and federalâpreemption questions courts will likely have to resolve.
đ Key Facts
- New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is backing a bill that would let New York residents sue ICE agents over alleged rights violations; the proposal is presented as part of a broader, multiâstate Democratic response to the Minneapolis killing of Renee Good and a Portland Border Patrolâinvolved shooting that wounded two people.
- Other New York Democrats are backing measures to require federal officers to secure warrants before entering schools, hospitals and houses of worship as part of the state package.
- Oregon Democrats have proposed a similar bill allowing residents to sue federal agents for alleged Fourth Amendment violations, while California lawmakers have proposed banning state and local officers from taking DHS second jobs and criminalizing certain ICE arrests around court appearances.
- New Jerseyâs Democratic legislature has passed three sanctuaryâstyle bills to limit local cooperation and dataâsharing with ICE and has sent them to Gov. Phil Murphy for action.
- Maryland Del. David Moon introduced a bill to âdigitally unmaskâ ICE agents, allowing courts in civilârights lawsuits or criminal proceedings to order preservation and disclosure of identifying digital dataâincluding licenseâplate reads, cellâtower and phone data, GPS/location data, facialârecognition hits, StingRay records and other recoverable digital identifiersâwith access limited to serious cases and the law slated to take effect Oct. 1, 2026.
- Moon rolled out the Maryland bill one day after an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis and explicitly tied the measure to concerns about masked or unbadged agents during raids.
- Democrats are advancing similar or symbolic bills in GOPârun states (Georgia, New Hampshire), while Tennessee Republicans are working with the Trump White House on a counterâpackage; the Trump administration says sanctuary nonâcooperation forces ICE into riskier street arrests and has threatened legal action against sanctuary jurisdictions.
- Legal scholars (including Harrison Stark) say these stateâlevel attempts to curb or condition federal immigration enforcement raise novel constitutional and federal preemption questions that courts will have to sort out.
đ Relevant Data
The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act prohibits the use or threat of force and physical obstruction that injures, intimidates, or interferes with a person seeking to obtain or provide reproductive health services or to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship.
Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances & Places of Religious Worship â U.S. Department of Justice
As of November 30, 2025, 73.6% of individuals held in ICE detention (48,377 out of 65,735) have no criminal conviction.
Immigration Detention Quick Facts â TRAC Reports
In fiscal year 2026, 92% of the growth in ICE detentions was driven by immigrants with no criminal history, with non-criminal detainees representing 72% of this growth.
92% of ICE Detention Growth in FY 2026 Driven by Immigrants with No Criminal History â Austin Kocher Substack
From January 21, 2024, through November 21, 2024, there were 19 reported assaults against ICE law enforcement, compared to 238 in the same period in 2025, representing a 1,153% increase.
Sanctuary Politicians' Rhetoric Fuels More Than 1,150% Increase in Violence Against ICE Law Enforcement â U.S. Department of Homeland Security
After the proliferation of sanctuary practices around 2014, both property crime and violent crime decreased more in sanctuary counties than in non-sanctuary counties.
Do sanctuary policies increase crime? Contrary evidence from a county-level panel in the United States â ScienceDirect
đ° Source Timeline (4)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Maryland Del. David Moon is introducing a state bill to 'digitally unmask' anonymous ICE agents involved in alleged violent or unconstitutional misconduct.
- The bill would let courts order preservation and disclosure of 'identifying digital data'âincluding license-plate reads, cell-tower and phone data, GPS/location data, facial recognition hits, StingRay records and other recoverable digital identifiersâto confirm an agentâs identity.
- Access to such data would be limited to serious cases via court orders in civil rights lawsuits or criminal proceedings, and the law would be slated to take effect Oct. 1, 2026 to give agencies time to build procedures.
- Moon rolled out the bill one day after ICE agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, explicitly tying it to concerns about masked or unbadged agents during raids.
- Situates Hochulâs civilâsuit bill as one element in a multiâstate Democratic push to curb or condition ICE operations after the Minneapolis shooting.
- Details that other New York Democrats are backing separate measures to require federal officers to secure warrants before entering schools, hospitals and houses of worship.
- Adds that Oregon Democrats plan a bill letting residents sue federal agents for alleged Fourth Amendment violations, and that New Jersey has sent three 'sanctuary state' bills to Gov. Phil Murphyâs desk to limit local cooperation and dataâsharing with ICE.
- Notes parallel efforts in California to block immigration arrests at court appearances and bar state and local officers from taking DHS roles, plus symbolic but unlikelyâtoâpass packages in GOPârun states like Georgia, New Hampshire and Tennessee.
- Reiterates the Trump administrationâs stance that sanctuary nonâcooperation forces ICE into riskier street arrests, and its threat to sue sanctuary jurisdictions.
- Places New Yorkâs proposed cause of action against ICE agents in a broader, multiâstate wave of Democratic efforts responding specifically to the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis and the wounding of two people in a Portland Border Patrolâinvolved shooting.
- Details parallel proposals in Oregon to let residents sue federal agents over alleged Fourth Amendment violations related to immigration enforcement.
- Reports that New Jerseyâs Democratic legislature has already passed three bills, including one barring state law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement, now awaiting action by Gov. Phil Murphy.
- Describes new California proposals to ban local and state officers from taking second jobs with DHS and to criminalize 'indiscriminate' ICE arrests around court appearances.
- Notes Democrats in Georgia and New Hampshire are introducing bills to limit immigration enforcement despite GOP control, while Republicans in Tennessee are working with the Trump White House on a counterâpackage instead of hearing a Democratic 'sensitive locations' bill.
- Quotes legal scholar Harrison Stark explaining that these state moves raise novel constitutional and preemption questions courts will have to sort out.