New York Governor Hochul Faces Backlash Over Bold Anti-ICE Push

New York Governor Kathy Hochul is doubling down on her anti-ICE stance with a bold legislative proposal that could reshape local-federal immigration enforcement in the Empire State. Her 2027 budget request includes the Local Cops Local Crimes Act, a law designed to prevent New York’s local police from assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in civil immigration matters.

The Act would bar local law enforcement from working with ICE, including ending any new agreements under the controversial 287(g) program that deputizes local officers for immigration enforcement. Hochul argues that local police, funded by taxpayers, should focus on community safety—not acting as federal immigration agents.

“ICE will no longer be able to use our police, our jails and our resources to carry out civil immigration enforcement,” Hochul declared at a recent press event. “Our officers were hired to protect their communities, to be there to assist with a traffic accident, to go after retail theft, stop domestic violence. They’re not there to do the federal government’s bidding.”

The governor’s push aligns with a broader Democratic effort in states like California, Illinois, and Virginia to resist Trump-era immigration crackdowns by limiting local cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Hochul’s package also includes measures to establish a state right to sue ICE for constitutional violations, ban masks for law enforcement, and restrict ICE from entering sensitive locations without a judicial warrant.

But the aggressive move has ignited a firestorm of criticism. Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman highlighted the removal of 2,000 illegal migrants from Nassau County through cooperation with ICE, framing Hochul’s policies as a threat to public safety.

Hans von Spakovsky, a legal scholar with Advancing American Freedom, warned that Hochul’s proposals face near-certain legal challenges. Citing the 1890 Supreme Court case In re Neagle, he said states cannot hold federal agents accountable for carrying out federal mandates. “If the question is: can she do any of that? The answer is no. This is not an ambiguous issue,” Spakovsky said.

The Department of Homeland Security’s acting assistant secretary for public affairs, Laurin Bis, also slammed the policies as dangerous. Bis accused Hochul of endangering New Yorkers by refusing to cooperate with ICE, claiming that violent criminals released from local jails could reenter communities unchecked.

“Instead of working with us, Governor Hochul is choosing to release violent criminals from her jails directly back into our communities to perpetrate more crimes and create more victims,” Bis said.

The Local Cops Local Crimes Act does allow local law enforcement to comply with valid state or federal court-issued warrants for immigration-related arrests, but it firmly limits proactive collaboration with ICE.

Hochul’s office has yet to clarify whether New York would refuse to hold suspects who violate immigration laws or why these measures were bundled with the state budget request.

This showdown over immigration enforcement in New York is more than a policy dispute—it’s a test of the limits of state power against federal authority. As Hochul pushes forward, expect legal battles and political heat to intensify, with the safety of communities and the rule of law hanging in the balance.