(The Center Square) – New York and the Trump administration have filed dueling federal lawsuits over a controversial new state law that restricts cooperation with federal immigration crackdowns and bans ICE agents from wearing masks during operations.
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit late Monday in U.S. District Court in Buffalo alleging that the “Local Cops, Local Crimes Act” signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul as part of the state budget is unconstitutional.
Lawyers for the DOJ said the new law, set to take effect Friday, would make U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and other federal authorities subject “to criminal penalties” for wearing masks to protect their identities.
“The federal government, not the state of New York, has the authority to control its own agents and activities,” they wrote in the 40-page complaint. “Such state-imposed laws undermine the principles of federalism that underlie our entire constitutional order by seeking to prevent effective federal law enforcement in New York.”
Hochul responded late Monday by directing Attorney General Letita James to file a federal lawsuit seeking to uphold the new restrictions on immigration enforcement.
That legal challenge asks a federal judge to declare that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s move to prevent enforcement of the state’s new immigration protections violate the Tenth Amendment. The complaint asks the court to block the Trump administration from taking any action to prevent enforcement of the laws.
“A badge carries responsibility,” Hochul, a Democrat, said in a statement. “New Yorkers deserve to know who is enforcing the law and the assurance that local resources are focused on local crimes, not advancing the agenda of a rogue federal agency.”
James said “by hiding their faces and refusing to wear identification, federal immigration officers endanger New Yorkers and intentionally evade accountability.”
“Our communities should not have to live in fear of being disappeared by unidentified masked agents,” the Democrat said. “If the federal government wants to brazenly defy our laws, then we will fight tooth and nail in court to ensure transparency and keep all New Yorkers safe.”
ICE has faced criticism from many Democratic-led states for allowing its agents to conduct immigration enforcement operations wearing plain clothes and face coverings.
The Department of Homeland Security has defended the practice, saying agents arresting immigrants are hiding their faces for their own safety because they face doxing and increasing threats. Some have been assaulted by protestors during immigration raids.
White House Border Czar Tom Homan’s has threatened to ramp up immigration enforcement in the state after Hochul signed the bill restricting ICE cooperation, vowing to “flood the streets” with immigration agents. New York’s legal challenge specifically cites Homan’s threats of a crackdown.
New York City saw a surge of hundreds of thousands of migrants during the Biden administration that overwhelmed the city’s shelter system. The city has spent billions of dollars over the past several years on housing, food and necessities for the new arrivals, prompting threats from the Trump administration to pull back federal funding.
