Jasper Ward
January 30 (Reuters) – New York Governor Kathy Hochul introduced a bill on Friday that would ban local law enforcement from participating in immigration enforcement operations under the auspices of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The bill, unveiled amid nationwide protests after federal agents in Minnesota twice shot and killed an American citizen, would end an agreement that allowed ICE to obligate state and local law enforcement officers to perform certain ICE functions under the agency’s supervision.
The proposal would also prevent state and local police from acting as federal agents or using state taxpayer-funded resources or personnel to conduct federal civil immigration enforcement.
The proposed law would allow people to sue federal officials for constitutional violations and require immigration officials to have a judicial warrant to enter sensitive locations such as homes and schools.
Hochul’s fellow Democrats control the state Legislature.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which has federal oversight of immigration enforcement, said the move would make New Yorkers less safe.
“When politicians prohibit local law enforcement from working with us, it becomes imperative that we have a more visible presence so we can find and apprehend criminals out of jail and back into the community,” said department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.
The move follows similar actions by other states in response to President Donald Trump’s aggressive crackdown on immigration in major cities.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Scott Malone and Cynthia Osterman)
