Governor's OfficeTIER 1High
Joint statement from Gov. Hochul and AG Letitia James on Aug 25, 2026 responding to the 15-sheriff lawsuit. Key factual claim in the statement: "Many of the 12 entities with these agreements have complied without incident." The statement says the courts have already declined to block the law once and that the state expects all New York law enforcement agencies to uphold it. The release does not give a compliance count, name the non-compliant agencies, or identify the plaintiffs.
GothamistTIER 1Breaking
AG Letitia James sent subpoenas Aug 25, 2026 to four counties her office says have not complied with the 287(g) ban, including Nassau, whose county executive Bruce Blakeman is the Republican nominee for governor. Blakeman has not said whether he will dissolve Nassau's agreement; his spokesperson declined to comment on the subpoena, and at a campaign event Blakeman defended the ICE partnership: "We removed them from America, and we made safer communities by doing so." Broome and Steuben officials had previously indicated they would end their ICE contracts. Rensselaer plans to join a lawsuit. Hochul said holdouts would face consequences but did not detail them. Reported by Jimmy Vielkind.