Hochul Proposes Ban on New York Police ICE Partnerships

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled the "Local Cops, Local Crimes Act," a state bill that would bar police departments and sheriffs in New York from entering 287(g) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or using local detention facilities for civil immigration enforcement. In a Feb. 2 press conference and a follow‑up "Morning Joe" interview, Hochul said she is sending a "strong message to ICE" and vowed to "forbid these agreements," arguing Trump’s immigration crackdown — including the fatal ICE and Border Patrol shootings of Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis and the transfer of 5‑year‑old Liam Conejo Ramos to a Texas facility — has made the country "unrecognizable." She stressed the measure would not stop cooperation on criminal cases but would prevent local officers from being "deputized" for civil-only immigration work or filling New York jails with detainees who may even have legal status. Hochul said many law‑enforcement leaders privately fear being "weaponized" against immigrant communities and that she wants local police focused on violent crime, gun trafficking and drugs, not Trump’s deportation quotas. The proposal puts a major blue-state governor directly at odds with the administration’s mass‑deportation strategy and will likely become a flashpoint in national battles over sanctuary policies and DHS funding.