The sheriffs of Cayuga and Wayne counties are among 15 across New York challenging a new state law that bars local law enforcement agencies from entering formal agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to carry out federal civil immigration duties.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in federal court, the same day the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act took effect. It names Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James and argues that the law improperly interferes with sheriffs’ independent authority and their ability to work with ICE through Section 287(g) agreements.
Cayuga County and Wayne County are both listed among the plaintiffs, placing two Finger Lakes-area sheriff’s offices directly in the middle of a broader fight over how much local law enforcement should participate in federal immigration enforcement.
Section 287(g) agreements allow ICE to delegate certain immigration-enforcement functions to trained state and local officers. New York’s new law prohibits those formal arrangements for civil immigration enforcement.
Hochul and James have defended the law as a public-safety measure, arguing that local officers should be focused on criminal investigations, emergency response and other community policing responsibilities rather than federal civil immigration work.
The sheriffs challenging the law argue the opposite: that cooperation with ICE is part of their public-safety mission and that the state is improperly restricting those partnerships.
The lawsuit also includes sheriffs from Rensselaer, St. Lawrence, Broome, Madison, Cattaraugus, Orange, Jefferson, Saratoga, Lewis, Franklin, Delaware, Fulton and Oswego counties.
Until 2025, only one New York county had a formal 287(g) agreement, according to reporting on the lawsuit. By late July, 12 agencies had entered such agreements as immigration enforcement expanded under the Trump administration.
The legal challenge comes after a court previously declined to block the state law before it took effect. Hochul and James said Tuesday they expect law enforcement agencies to comply while the latest lawsuit proceeds.
“This lawsuit is nothing but a frivolous waste of taxpayer dollars,” Hochul and James said in a joint statement. “The courts have already declined to block this law once, and we are confident they will do so again.”
The state has emphasized that the law does not prevent local agencies from cooperating with federal authorities in criminal cases. Hochul said Friday that New York will continue working with ICE and other federal agencies when criminal activity is involved, while drawing a distinction between criminal enforcement and civil immigration duties.
The lawsuit now puts that distinction before a federal court, with Cayuga and Wayne counties among the local governments seeking to preserve their ability to enter formal immigration-enforcement partnerships with ICE.
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