After the pardon mooted Genalo v. Black, Solicitor General Sauer says the Trump administration will seek an "alternative vehicle" to challenge the Second Circuit's bond-hearing ruling; Iowa's solicitor general calls the pardon "pretty wild," and Hochul's office had not commented as of Sept. 12

Follow-on to the Sept. 11 dismissal. Fox News reports Solicitor General John Sauer agreed the case is moot but said the administration will look for another case to bring the same question (whether prolonged immigration detention triggers a constitutional right to a bond hearing) back to the Supreme Court. Criticism quoted is from Iowa Solicitor General Eric Wessan on X; no Blakeman statement was found in any outlet. Fox said it had asked Hochul's office for comment and had no reply. Reader note: Fox's framing ("torpedos") is the outlet's; the underlying facts match SCOTUSblog's Sept. 11 report.

Rensselaer County Legislature takes a "wait and see" line on the sheriff's 287(g) agreement after a record 95 people packed its public forum; a Democratic legislator says a non-binding resolution to drop the lawsuit is unlikely to move

Since Hochul signed the 287(g) ban in May, the Rensselaer County Legislature has not taken up a single item on Sheriff Kyle Bourgault's ICE agreement, and Democratic Legislator Ken Zalewski says that is unlikely to change: "everyone's just going to let it play out in a court of law." About 95 people attended the monthly public forum, a record, many urging Bourgault to end the agreement; County Executive Steve McLaughlin (R) defended it. Any resolution would be non-binding and would need every Democrat plus two Republicans. Rensselaer is one of the 15 sheriff's offices suing the state in federal court (Bourgault v. Hochul); the AG has a parallel state-court suit to terminate the agreement.

Nassau's sheriff has not joined the 287(g) suit; judge sets briefing schedule with state response due Sept. 9

Plaintiffs' attorney Mateo Forero-Norena confirmed Aug 28 that acting Nassau Sheriff Robert Matarazzo has not yet joined Bourgault v. Hochul, despite Blakeman saying Wednesday he directed the sheriff's office to join; talks about adding him are ongoing. Judge Mae D'Agostino (NDNY) issued an order to show cause on the sheriffs' TRO/preliminary-injunction motion: the state (James, Hochul, NYS) must respond by Sept. 9 at 5 p.m., with the sheriffs' reply due Sept. 16 at 5 p.m. The requested TRO would bar enforcement of the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act and any voiding of existing 287(g) agreements.

Blakeman's running mate, Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood, is a named plaintiff in the sheriffs' suit against Hochul

Court papers name all fifteen sheriffs who sued in the Northern District of New York on Aug. 25, the day the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act took effect: Broome (Frederick Akshar), Cattaraugus (Eric Butler), Cayuga (Brian Schenck), Delaware (Craig DuMond), Franklin (Jay Cook), Fulton (Richard Giardino), Jefferson (Peter Barnett), Lewis (Michael Carpinelli), Madison (Todd Hood), Orange (Paul Arteta), Oswego (Don Hilton), Rensselaer (Kyle Bourgault), Saratoga (Jeffrey Brown), St. Lawrence (Patrick Engle) and Wayne (Robert Milby). Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James and the State of New York are named defendants. Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood is Bruce Blakeman's running mate on the Republican ticket, so a candidate on the GOP statewide slate is now a plaintiff against the governor his ticket is trying to unseat. Hood entered Madison County into a 287(g) agreement in July 2025, was warned by the AG's office in July 2026, agreed to end the agreement as the law requires, and said he still intends to honor ICE detainer requests at the county jail. Onondaga County Sheriff Toby Shelley, who declined to cooperate with ICE in 2025, is not a plaintiff. The suit argues the agreements are authorized by Congress and that no state executive can bar independently elected sheriffs from entering them.

Blakeman defends Nassau's ICE deal on the response deadline: "the most comprehensive agreement with ICE in the United States"

On Aug 14 — the day Nassau's written response to the state's wind-down notice was due — Blakeman publicly defended the county's 287(g) agreement, calling it "the most comprehensive agreement with ICE in the United States of America" and disputing Hochul's description of it as cruel. He said the partnership produced the removal of 2,000 migrants with criminal records in one year without raids at churches, daycare centers, schools or hospitals. Nassau police and the sheriff remain among the seven agencies that have not agreed to unwind before the Aug 25 statutory deadline.

Hochul and James: 5 of 12 agencies will drop ICE deals; Nassau police and sheriff among 7 holdouts with 11 days left

On the Aug 14 status-report deadline, Hochul and AG James issued a joint statement: of the 12 law enforcement agencies notified under the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, five have told the state they intend to comply. The seven holdouts — including the Nassau County Sheriff's Office and Police Department — have 11 days until the Aug 25 date when all 287(g) agreements become void by statute. Steuben Sheriff Allard, one of the holdouts, argues no "unwinding" is required since the law voids the agreements automatically, and calls the mandate politically driven. Nassau's formal response to the AG (due 5pm Aug 14) had not been made public at run time.

Blakeman leans on Trump playbook to energize upstate Republicans, rallying with Constantino at Great Sacandaga Lake

287(g) compliance splits upstate counties: Rensselaer defies wind-down order as St. Lawrence unwinds and Saratoga sheriff backs lawsuit

With the Aug. 25 deadline to terminate 287(g) ICE agreements under the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act approaching — and the NDNY ruling upholding the state ban now in hand — the 12 affected agencies are splitting. St. Lawrence County's sheriff says his agreement is "dead in the water" (NCPR, Aug. 5). Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin and Sheriff Kyle Bourgault say they will not comply ("I will defy you"), drawing resident backlash at a county meeting (CBS6). Saratoga County's sheriff backs a planned lawsuit against the state ban (WAMC, Aug. 4). Nassau's written response is still due Aug. 14. The compliance split sets up the next test of the law Hochul and AG James are enforcing.

DOJ sues New York over federal-agent mask ban

The U.S. Justice Department sued New York over the new ban on masked federal agents.

Blakeman vows to keep Nassau ICE deal despite new state limits

Blakeman said he would defy state laws restricting ICE cooperation and sue the state.

Hochul signs budget measures limiting ICE cooperation and unmasking agents

Hochul signed budget provisions barring on-duty officers from concealing identities and limiting ICE access to sensitive locations.