(The Center Square) – New York can continue restricting county sheriffs from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement crackdowns while a legal challenge over the law plays out in court, a federal judge has ruled.
The ruling by U.S. District Court judge Mae A. D’Agostino rejected a request from 15 New York county sheriffs for a preliminary injunction to block the restrictions with Attorney General Letitia James’s office pursuing separate legal challenges to force sheriffs to cancel so-called 287(g) agreements and federal housing contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A lawsuit filed in August by Rensselaer County Sheriff Kyle Bourgault and 14 other sheriffs alleges that a provision of the newly enacted “Local Cops Local Crimes Act” banning 287 (g) agreements with ICE is an illegal overreach by the state government that interferes with contractual agreements between counties and the federal government.
The sheriffs claimed in court filings that the new restrictions would “go further” than limiting immigration cooperation to “nullify the ability of independently elected constitutional officers to enter into contracts authorized by federal law” and have asked the court to declare them unconstitutional.
“Local law enforcement should be focused on keeping New Yorkers safe, not carrying out the administration’s cruel mass deportation agenda,” James said in a statement in response to the latest ruling. “We will continue to defend our laws in court.”
But D’Agostino ruled that the sheriffs had not proven they have legal authority to bring their constitutional claims against the state, citing a New York law that restricts the ability of local governments to challenge state laws on constitutional grounds.
“Although some scholars have called for a reform of the legal landscape to allow local governments to sue their parent state, the current state of the law does not appear to allow for such a suit,” D’Agostino wrote in the 28-page ruling. “Indeed, Plaintiffs have not presented a single case which states that an independently elected sheriff may indeed sue in his official capacity to protect the duties of his office.”
In a statement, Bourgault vowed to press on with the legal challenge and defended sheriffs’ use of immigration screening at county jails, saying it gives law enforcement “important information” about individuals in custody.
“‘We are reviewing the ruling and determining the next course of action,” Bourgault said in a statement. “This screening is an effective tool for law enforcement. We utilize this screening to gather information on those brought to our facility and their past crimes and whether they are wanted here or abroad.”
“That is basic but very necessary information, and the state has yet to tell us how they are improving safety by not allowing screening of illegal migrants,” he added.
The legal fight over the ICE agreements is part of a mountain of litigation surrounding the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, which also bans ICE agents from wearing masks and restricts ICE’s access to schools, churches, courthouses and other “sensitive” locations. A federal judge in August temporarily blocked the ICE mask ban.
New York is also being sued by the Department of Justice over the new law, and federal prosecutors secured an injunction temporarily blocking a ban on ICE agents from wearing masks during immigration enforcement operations while legal fight plays out in court. James has filed a countersuit to uphold the law.
The issue was featured in the governor’s race with GOP gubernatorial nominee and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and his running mate, Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood, in support of the ICE agreements. Blakeman was defeated in Tuesday’s election after Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul won another four year term in office.
