Hochul Announces Ban On 287(g) Agreements In State Budget

ALBANY, NY — Governor Kathy Hochul announced the framework of a $268 billion state budget agreement Thursday that would ban 287(g) agreements like the one Nassau County Police Department currently has with U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement, the governor said.

According to ICE, section 287(g) agreements allow it to designate certain local law enforcement officers as its delegates, giving them the ability to carry out certain functions of an immigration officer's job under the direction of the federal agency.

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NCPD entered into its 287(g) agreement with ICE in March of last year, clearing the way for 16 NCPD officers to be trained as cross-designated agents with the federal agency. A lawsuit seeking to have the agreement ruled unlawful was ultimately unsuccessful, as a judge ruled in favor of NCPD and ICE in February.

In comments made after that ruling, the NYCLU, which had brought the lawsuit, said the judge’s ruling wouldn’t impact legislative efforts to outlaw 287(g) agreements in New York. In her remarks Thursday, Hochul said the budget agreement that officials had reached would do just that.

“This year’s budget also takes steps to protect New Yorkers from the aggressive, often cruel ICE enforcements that we’ve seen play out in our communities, and on television in other communities,” Hochul said. “Remember when the Trump administration said they were only going to go after the ‘worst of the worst?’ The ‘baddest of the bad?’ We all agreed with that…I think the voters did, but they didn’t just target gang members and hardened criminals, which I would’ve supported, we did support. They also targeted mothers still nursing their infants, separating them, an 85-year-old widow in her nightgown, factory workers, small business owners, high school students, even young children.”

Under the agreement, Hochul said, ICE would not be allowed to use local police, jails and resources to carry out civil immigration enforcement. In the governor’s words, “our officers paid for by local taxpayer dollars 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…I’m trying to help our local municipalities keep the crime rates down.”

In Nassau County, the increased immigration enforcement efforts have been the subject of multiple protests and vigils over the past 18 months, ranging from Nassau County to Suffolk, the Hampton Bays and the North Fork.

In a statement made on Facebook Thursday, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman called Hochul's budget a "triple threat" to New Yorkers' wallets, highlighting its impact on taxes, utility bills and government spending.

The governor, meanwhile, called the federal agency "out of control."

“States like New York can and must be a guardrail against ICE overreach,” Hochul said.

The state budget announcement came two days after the latest Siena Polls were released regarding Hochul, which showed the incumbent governor with a 16-point lead over Blakeman, the Republican challenger. That lead is up three points from a month ago, but still lower than it was when Blakeman became the Republican nominee.

“With a conceptual agreement in place, the legislative houses are expected to pass bills that will fully enact these priorities in the coming days,” Hochul’s office said Thursday. “Based on a preliminary assessment of the negotiated changes to the Executive proposal, the total Budget for FY 2027 is currently estimated at $268 billion.”