Rensselaer County filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday to strike down a New York state law barring law enforcement agencies from working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under 287(g) cooperation agreements.
The lawsuit was not available on the U.S. court system's online document database as of Tuesday afternoon, but officials said it will be filed imminently. According to the court system's FAQ page, newly filed cases typically appear within 24 hours.
The law banning 287(g) agreements with ICE, known as the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, was signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul in May and went into effect Tuesday.
“I believe that when the facts of this case are heard and the political arguments are set aside, we will prevail,” said Rensselaer County Sheriff Kyle Bourgault, a plaintiff in the case, in a statement Monday.
The Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office's 287(g) agreement allows deputies to identify immigrants in the county jail and initiate immigration proceedings against them on behalf of ICE.
The county has initiated deportation proceedings against nine immigrants under the program since it signed the agreement in 2018. County officials said they receive no money from the federal government to participate in the program.
Other 287(g) agreements allow officers to make immigration-related arrests and/or serve and execute warrants on immigrants in their custody.
Bourgault and Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin had for months said they planned to ignore the new law, even after the state Attorney General’s Office ordered them to comply in July. Rensselaer County has argued that the agreement allows them to keep communities safer and helps identify dangerous criminals.
"We'll see you in court, governor," McLaughlin said at a press conference Tuesday. "Because of the governor and the AG's actions, we're not left feeling safer. Instead, we're asking, 'Who's next?' In Rensselaer County, we don't stand for it, and as I always say, leaders lead. We want to keep our people safe. We want to keep this community safe. We're doing the right thing."
Hochul and state Democrats have said the law ensures that local police departments and sheriff's offices are focused on solving violent crimes and not wasting resources on civil immigration enforcement.
At her own press conference in Albany Tuesday, Hochul didn't mention Rensselaer County by name, but she had a stern message for any law enforcement agencies that maintained 287(g) agreements.
"Let me be clear: any police department or sheriff's office that disobeys this law, that maintains any agreement with ICE, will face legal action," Hochul said. "And to those suing us, those trying to block the implementation of this law, [you've] tried before and failed. Our law has been already upheld by courts, but if you're trying it again, I say bring it on."
Hochul was referring to an ongoing lawsuit brought by the federal government against New York state to overturn the 287(g) agreement ban. A federal court judge in that case allowed New York to continue enforcing its ban on the agreements while litigation continues, citing a similar ban on 287(g) agreements in New Jersey that was allowed to stand.
In the same ruling, the judge agreed to temporarily block New York's ban on ICE agents wearing masks in the state.
Besides Rensselaer County, 12 other jurisdictions in New York had 287(g) agreements when the law was signed. Eleven have said they would withdraw from those agreements by Tuesday.
The only other exception is Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman's home county of Nassau County. Hochul said Blakeman, who is the county executive, had not given the state notice that Nassau County would withdraw from its 287(g) agreements as of Tuesday morning.
“We're still talking with our lawyers. They're reviewing the process," Blakeman told the New York Public News Network on Monday. "I'll make a decision shortly. But let me just say this: everything Kathy Hochul does makes us less safe."
A spokesperson for Blakeman did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. McLaughlin said he spoke to Blakeman, but he wouldn't reveal the details of their conversation.
McLaughlin would not elaborate on who else will be a plaintiff in the lawsuit. Saratoga County Sheriff Jeff Brown told WAMC earlier this month that he was “signing on” to a planned lawsuit against the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, even though his county doesn’t have a 287(g) agreement.
