New York Budget Deal Cuts ICE Ties But Falls Short of Full Sanctuary Promises

New York’s incoming 2027 state budget includes a key provision to phase out 287(g) agreements, which let local law enforcement partner with ICE in immigration enforcement. Governor Kathy Hochul hailed the move as a step to protect immigrant communities from the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation tactics that tore through Latino neighborhoods with mass raids and arrests.

“These are hardworking people contributing to our economy,” Hochul said, acknowledging the fear and disruption caused by ICE’s expanded reach. The governor promised the state would still target “the hardened criminals” but would cut formal ties that have allowed local police to funnel immigrants into federal detention.

Advocates and progressive lawmakers welcomed the announcement but quickly flagged major gaps. The deal does not ban informal cooperation, such as police tipping off ICE after routine stops. Cases like a Latino man in Port Chester—detained despite no formal ICE agreement—highlight the ongoing risks.

Jennifer Hernandez of Make the Road recalled how local police handed a man over to ICE after a traffic stop, leading to his detention out of state and eventual self-deportation due to illness. “There’s no tackling of the informal collusion that happens between local police and ICE,” Hernandez said.

The Immigrant Defense Project has documented dozens of such incidents recently, underscoring the limits of the state’s approach. Linda Flor Brito called the failure to adopt the full New York for All Act “devastating and disappointing.” That bill would fully bar local law enforcement from any civil immigration enforcement cooperation.

State Senator Andrew Gounardes, who sponsored the legislation, said the budget will ban new 287(g) agreements and require existing ones to end after the budget passes. However, contracts allowing ICE to rent detention beds in local jails will remain until they expire.

Just days before the budget announcement, Trump’s former border czar Tom Homan threatened to “flood” New York with ICE agents if cooperation is limited. Hochul dismissed the threat, vowing to protect New Yorkers and keep schools safe from immigration raids.

The budget deal also proposes a “state right” to sue officials for constitutional violations and bans certain federal, state, and local law enforcement actions. But for many advocates, the fight is far from over. Without a complete ban on all forms of local collaboration with ICE, immigrant communities remain exposed to the very deportation machinery the state claims to oppose.