Kathy Hochul Seeks To Ban Local Police Agreements With ICE, Says She Must Act In ‘Moment Of Tyranny’

New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul proposed a new law on Friday that would ban local police departments from working with the federal government to enforce immigration laws.

Hochul, who has recently condemned Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions, said at a press conference that she would seek to end participation in a federal program that grants local police power to enforce immigration laws. Hochul called her proposal the “Local Cops, Local Crimes Act,” arguing that ICE should not “expect local law enforcement to team up with them because we have other responsibilities.”

“We are called to act in this moment of tyranny,” Hochul said.

“So today, with this proposal, we’re sending a strong message to ICE,” she added. “You will not weaponize local police officers against their own communities in the state of New York. You will not use our police technology to track people who have done nothing wrong. You will not throw innocent people into our jails.”

Hochul’s proposal targets ICE’s 287(g) program, which establishes agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies and allows ICE to deputize those officers. The program also allows ICE to use local police facilities for immigration enforcement. If Hochul’s proposal becomes law, New York would become the seventh state to ban the agreement with ICE, joining California, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, and Connecticut.

The Democratic governor accused the federal government of abandoning its responsibility to pursue public safety “lawfully, transparently, and with humanity.”

“In every corner of our state, New Yorkers are feeling traumatized and stunned as they watch federal agents carry out unspeakable acts of violence in a country they no longer recognize,” Hochul said, surrounded by New York officials, such as NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

“For weeks, our eyes have been turned to the horrors unfolding on the streets of Minneapolis,” she added, accusing federal immigration agents of “murder” in the shooting of anti-ICE demonstrators Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Hochul said her announcement on Friday was in response to Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey’s “call” for leaders throughout the country to stand up to ICE.

New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman, a current Nassau County executive, ripped Hochul after her announcement, calling her “the most pro-criminal governor in the United States who has a callous disregard for the safety of our communities and victims of crime.”

“By banning local law enforcement partnerships with ICE, Hochul is allowing dangerous criminals to return to our neighborhoods. That ends when I’m Governor,” Blakeman added.

Hochul’s effort to push back against ICE operations in New York comes as the Trump administration seeks to negotiate with Democratic leaders for greater cooperation on immigration enforcement, especially in major cities such as Minneapolis and New York City. Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s newly elected democratic socialist mayor, is also strongly opposed to any cooperation with federal immigration agents on arresting and deporting illegal immigrants in the Big Apple.

Democrats doubled down on their opposition to President Donald Trump’s massive deportation push after Minneapolis residents Alex Pretti and Renee Good were shot and killed by federal agents this month.