NCPD-ICE Agreement Deemed Legal By Judge

NASSAU COUNTY, NY. — A judge ruled Tuesday that the Nassau County Police Department’s ongoing agreement with Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) was lawful, dealing a blow to a lawsuit brought by the NYCLU, the Hofstra Law Clinic and Latino Justice PRLDEF. The agreement has been in place since March of 2025, and allows for NCPD personnel to be trained, certified and cross-designated with the federal agency.

In their lawsuit — brought on behalf of the Hempstead-based Central American Refugee Center (CARECEN), the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, Freeport-based Haitian American Family of Long Island and a pair of Nassau County residents — the organizations challenging the law claimed that the Section 287(g) agreement between the NCPD and ICE had ''radically and unlawfully expanded” the federal agency’s “authority to arrest and detain people in Nassau County.”

In the judge’s ruling, however, fears of immigration enforcement brought forth by the NYCLU, CARECEN et. al., referred to as "the petitioners," were not specifically due to the agreement between NCPD and ICE.

“It is apparent that the Petitioners incorrectly assign their alleged fears to the 287(g) Agreement, when instead it is based generally on the ongoing ICE operations in Nassau County, which will continue to operate irrespective of the sixteen (16) Nassau County Police Department officers that were nominated for training and certification as cross-designated agents pursuant to the 287(g) Agreement," Peterson said in her ruling.

The petitioners had previously stated that members of the communities they serve lived in fear of being stopped, detained and arrested by NCPD officers under the terms of the agreement, Peterson said. In one instance, CARECEN and its cohort claimed that immigrant parishioners in the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island were scared of going to church for fear of immigration enforcement taking place there. Peterson also cited claims that members of Haitian Family of Long Island had reported being afraid to take the bus, go to church, drive, send their children to school or even leave the house, for fear of being stopped, questioned or detained over their immigration status.

With all of those claims on the record, which Peterson called a “chilling effect,” the judge said the claims didn't meet the criteria needed to give standing to the challenge of the NCPD-ICE agreement.

“The alleged chilling effect is not being caused by any specific action of the Respondents against the named Petitioners, and none of the Petitioners have alleged a direct injury as a result of Respondents’ actions. Consequently, Petitioners have failed to establish standing,” Peterson said.

Peterson also said that the scope of her ruling in this matter was limited by the way it was brought forth. The case was filed under article 78 of New York's Civil Practice Law and Rules, which Peterson said limits the scope of a judge’s review. Specifically, Peterson said, the judge’s review in article 78 cases is limited to whether or not the agreement was made in violation of lawful procedure, was affected by an error of law or constitutes an arbitrary and capricious abuse of discretion.

“Here, the stated basis for the administrative action is rooted in public safety and operational efficiency,” Peterson said, citing the potential for cross-designated NCPD-ICE personnel to expedite the transfer of arrestees into federal custody.

Friday, the NYCLU did not say whether or not it would appeal the ruling, saying that the organization was “exploring all of [its] options.”

“While this lower court order is disappointing, this order doesn’t change the fact that under New York State law, police officers do not have the authority to act like de facto ICE agents and terrorize immigrant communities,” NYCLU Staff Attorney Ify Chikezie said. “We all know that this unlawful partnership between local Nassau police and ICE has nothing to do with safety, reason, or the rule of law — it’s about fear mongering and needlessly hurting immigrant communities. We’ll keep fighting until Nassau police are no longer aiding and abetting Trump’s mass deportation agenda.”

The NYCLU also said that the ruling does not impact ongoing legislative efforts in New York, including Governor Kathy Hochul’s current efforts to ban 287(g) agreements like the one NCPD signed with ICE. Patch attempted to reach a spokesperson for Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman for comment on the ruling. Blakeman was not specifically named as a defendant in the suit.

In recent months, the presence of ICE on Long Island has been the subject of numerous protests and demonstrations, extending beyond Nassau County into Suffolk, including The Hamptons and the North Fork.