New York released nearly 7,000 criminal illegal aliens last year – including 29 killers and 207 sexual predators – rather than hand them to ICE.
Now Kathy Hochul has made that policy the law of the entire state.
What she did not expect is what 15 of her own sheriffs just did about it.
Hochul Declares ICE Cooperation Illegal Across New York
New York Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul signed the "Local Cops, Local Crimes Act" into state law in May – a bill that strips every county sheriff and local police agency in New York of the authority to work with federal immigration officers under 287(g) agreements.
Those agreements allow local deputies to screen criminal illegal aliens in county jails, flag them for removal, and hold them until ICE arrives.
Hochul didn't just ban new agreements.
She voided every existing one – declaring them "not consistent with state law" and "void and unenforceable" – and set a hard deadline of August 25, 2026, for sheriffs to dissolve or face consequences.
To enforce it, she created a new state agency – the Office of Immigrant Trust – housed inside Attorney General Letitia James's office, with the specific mission of investigating any law enforcement agency that keeps cooperating with ICE.
James sent letters to all 12 agencies with active 287(g) agreements in July.
Most folded.
15 New York Sheriffs Sue Over Sanctuary Law Blocking ICE
15 New York county sheriffs filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York challenging both the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act and the Office of Immigrant Trust as unconstitutional.
They also filed an emergency motion demanding the court block Hochul from voiding their existing federal agreements immediately.
New York's county sheriffs are independently elected constitutional officers under Article XIII of the New York Constitution – answerable to voters, not to the governor or the attorney general.
When Hochul declared their lawfully executed federal contracts "void and unenforceable," she didn't just change a policy – she tore up legal agreements those sheriffs signed with the United States government and stripped elected officials of their constitutional authority.
Lead plaintiff Sheriff Kyle Bourgault of Rensselaer County refused to dissolve his 287(g) agreement.
Albany's answer was to sue him for it.
New York Released 6947 Criminal Illegal Aliens Rather Than Call ICE
New York's sanctuary policies have a body count.
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, New York refused to honor ICE detainer requests and released 6,947 criminal illegal aliens during 2025 alone.
Among those released: individuals charged or convicted of 207 sexual predatory offenses, 29 homicides, 2,509 assaults, 305 robberies, and 392 drug offenses.
Those 207 sexual predators walked out of New York jails and back into New York neighborhoods because Hochul's policies told sheriffs to let them go.
ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Field Office Director Kenneth Genalo documented what that looks like on the ground in a June 2026 press release – his teams had just completed a sweep of the New York City area, arresting criminal illegal aliens convicted of murder, rape, sexual abuse of children, and sexual contact with persons incapable of consent.
"While sanctuary politicians continue to prioritize criminal illegal aliens over law-abiding New Yorkers," Genalo said, "our officers are on the front lines every day keeping our communities safe from murderers, rapists and pedophiles that prey on our most vulnerable citizens."
Kathy Hochul's 287g Ban Is Spreading Across Democrat States
The Department of Justice already sued New York in June over this same law.
A federal court denied the DOJ's motion for a preliminary injunction on the 287(g) ban – letting the law take effect while litigation continues.
The fight moves forward in the courts, where the sheriffs' constitutional argument – that Hochul cannot void lawful federal contracts entered into by independently elected officers – gets its full hearing.
Democrat-controlled states across the country are racing to replicate Hochul's model – passing 287(g) bans that would sever the local-federal cooperation Trump needs to sustain his deportation operation.
The sheriffs who sued are forcing courts to decide whether a governor can legally compel independently elected constitutional officers to abandon federal law enforcement contracts – and stand up a state investigative bureau to punish them if they don't.
Fifteen sheriffs said no.
Murderers, rapists, and sexual predators are why.
Sources:
- Craig Bannister, "15 New York County Sheriffs Sue to Stop Gov. Hochul's New Sanctuary Provisions," CNSNews, August 26, 2026.
- "New York Sheriffs Sue to Strike State's ICE Cooperation Ban," Bloomberg Law, August 26, 2026.
- "NY Gov Hochul Pledges to Enforce Anti-ICE Rules for Local Law Enforcement," Just the News, August 25, 2026.
- "New York State Sues Upstate Sheriff's Office Over Cooperation With ICE," Just the News, August 27, 2026.
- ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, Press Release, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, June 10, 2026.
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Criminal Alien Release Data, 2025.
- "Governor Hochul and Attorney General James Announce Lawsuit Against Rensselaer County Sheriff," Governor.ny.gov, August 27, 2026.
