14 ICE Partnerships, Voided in One Budget Vote.
The Border Czar Promised to ‘Flood the Zone.’
On Thursday, May 21, 2026, the New York State Legislature passed the FY2026-27 budget's Public Protection and General Government Article VII bill — which folds in Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY)'s Local Cops, Local Crimes Act (Governor's Program Bill #18, originally announced January 30). The provision voids all 14 active 287(g) Memoranda of Agreement between ICE and 9 New York counties+ 3 municipal police departments, bars future ones, and prohibits any NY county jail from renting bed space to ICE for civil immigration detention. Hochul's signature is functionally certain — it is her own bill.
The federal response came two weeks earlier. At the May 5 Border Security Expo in Phoenix, Border Czar Tom Homan (Trump appointee) told the audience that if NY passed the bill, ICE would “flood the zone”: more ICE agents, more “collateral arrests” in neighborhoods, and detainees flown to Texas or Arizona rather than held in NY county jails. Hochul replied: “I don't take well to threats. They're going to find that out.”
The Fox News story this page builds on quoted Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman (R), the GOP gubernatorial nominee now challenging Hochul, calling the upstate-sheriff reaction “mad as hell.” That is Blakeman's quote, not a sheriff's — but the sheriff anger is real. At an April 28 NY State Capitol presser, roughly a dozen Republican sheriffs and undersheriffs lined up to oppose the bill. Broome County Sheriff Fredrick J. Akshar II (R) said it was “a hill that we're prepared to die on.” Cattaraugus County Sheriff Eric Butler (R) called Hochul “a fool.” Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin (R) posted on X that his county “WILL continue to participate in the 287g program.” The next chapter is a federal-preemption lawsuit.
- 14287(g) MOAs voidedAcross 9 NY counties — Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Madison, Nassau, Niagara, Otsego, Rensselaer, Steuben — plus 3 municipal police departments (Allegany Village PD, Camden PD, Wayland PD). Source: NY Focus + ICE 287(g) program page (Jan 2026 snapshot).
- May 21budget passageBoth chambers of the NY Legislature passed the FY2026-27 budget's Public Protection / General Government Article VII bill, which folded together the 287(g) prohibition, an ICE-mask ban, sensitive-locations protections, and a state cause of action to sue ICE.
- 8thstate to ban 287(g)NY joins WA, OR, CA, IL, NJ, DE, and CT — the eighth state to statutorily prohibit 287(g) cooperation. Operationally, ICE in ban-states pivots from jail-handoff to community arrest teams. That pivot is exactly what Homan signaled with 'collateral arrests.'
- 1890In re NeagleThe 135-year-old federal-preemption precedent Heritage's Hans von Spakovsky cites as the basis for striking the NY law: states cannot obstruct federal officers in the lawful performance of their duties. Blakeman (R) and McLaughlin (R) are positioning to be the test case.
- 1NYSSA president supports HochulUlster County Sheriff Juan Figueroa (D) — the NY State Sheriffs' Association president, first Latino in the 94-year-old organization's history — stood with Hochul at the January 30 announcement: 'When families in my community are afraid to report a crime because of their immigration status, race, or ethnicity, we have failed them.' The sheriff coalition opposing Hochul is real, not unanimous.
- $4.3–5BNYC migrant-influx cost since 2022Per NYC Comptroller / state estimates frequently cited by NY Assembly Republicans in opposition. Assembly Minority Leader Ed Ra (R): 'New York is now a sanctuary state on steroids.'
The 287(g) program — codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1357(g) — lets ICE delegate limited federal immigration enforcement authority to state and local officers via a written Memorandum of Agreement. There are three program models: Task Force (officers act as immigration enforcement in the field), Warrant Service Officer (jail officers serve ICE warrants on detainees about to be released), and Jail Enforcement(jail officers identify removable aliens during intake). New York's 14 active MOAs split across all three.
Hochul's Local Cops, Local Crimes Act amends NY executive law to bar the State Police, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS), and any local government, law enforcement agency, or correctional facility from “entering into, modifying, renewing, remaining in, or extending any agreement pursuant to Section 287(g).” The May 21 budget package goes further: it bars NY county jails from leasing bed space to ICE for civil immigration detention, restricts ICE access to sensitive locations (schools, hospitals, courthouses), bans ICE officers from wearing masks during state-jurisdiction enforcement, and creates a state cause of action allowing private plaintiffs to sue ICE under NY law.
What the bill blocks: NY county jails, sheriffs, and the state police can no longer be deputized to act as ICE agents under federal MOAs. NY county jails can no longer rent beds to ICE for civil immigration detention. NY institutions are barred from sharing certain databases or coordinating field operations with ICE.
What the bill does NOT block:ICE itself. The federal 287(g) program continues to exist. Federal agents can still operate in NY, still execute federal warrants, still arrest removable aliens in public spaces — they just can't use NY deputies as force multipliers and can't use NY jails as detention facilities. Homan's “flood the zone” warning is the operational consequence: ICE shifts from jail-handoff to community arrest teams, which means more visibility, more collateral arrests, and longer flights to out-of-state facilities.
On April 28, 2026, roughly a dozen sheriffs and undersheriffs from across upstate New York convened at the NY State Capitol with the New York State Sheriffs' Association to oppose the bill. The voice of the room belonged to Broome County Sheriff Fredrick J. Akshar II (R) — a former NY State Senator who left Albany for the sheriff's star — who framed the fight in deliberately stark terms.
“This is a fight that is worth having, and it's a hill that we're prepared to die on so to speak. Today is not about resisting oversight, rejecting accountability. It's about drawing a line in the sand and saying enough is enough.”
Sheriff Fredrick J. Akshar II (R-Broome) · NY State Capitol presser · April 28, 2026 · Spectrum News 1
Sheriff Fredrick J. Akshar II (R-Broome County)— former NY State Senator. Spokesman of the April 28 NYSSA Capitol presser. “Hill we're prepared to die on.”
Sheriff Todd Hood (R-Madison County)— now running with Blakeman as GOP nominee for Lt. Governor. Madison County signed a new Warrant Service Officer MOA in July 2025. “The 287(g) program is absolutely amazing.”
Sheriff Eric Butler (R-Cattaraugus County)— called Hochul “a fool” on Feb 3, 2026.
Sheriff Michael Filicetti (R-Niagara County)— re-evaluated the county's ICE arrangement mid-debate; ended detention without warrants but kept criminal-warrant cooperation. The county had both Task Force and Warrant Service Officer MOAs.
Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin (R)— not a sheriff but operationally the county's ICE coordinator. Promised on X to defy the new law.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman (R)— not a sheriff. GOP gubernatorial nominee. Source of the “mad as hell” quote in Fox News May 27 — speaking on behalf of (not as) the sheriffs. Promised a federal lawsuit on preemption.
On January 30, 2026, when Hochul announced the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, the law-enforcement official standing next to her at the podium was not a city police chief or a DA. It was Ulster County Sheriff Juan Figueroa (D)— the president of the New York State Sheriffs' Association. Figueroa is the first Latino president in the association's 94-year history. He was elected NYSSA president in January 2026, and his very first major act was to back the bill.
“I was elected to keep my county safe. When families in my community are afraid to report a crime because of their immigration status, race, or ethnicity, we have failed them. Governor Hochul's proposals give state and local law enforcement across this state the clarity and backing we need to do our jobs the right way.”
Sheriff Juan Figueroa (D-Ulster), NYSSA President · NY Governor's Office presser · January 30, 2026
The framing of this fight as “the sheriffs” vs. Hochul is therefore not accurate. The state sheriffs' association president — the office that institutionally speaks for the sheriff coalition — supports the bill. The opposition is a coalition of Republican upstate sheriffs, organized through NYSSA's legislative committee but not speaking for the association's elected leadership. Honest reporting acknowledges both camps.
Three voices to listen to. Homan's “flood the zone” warning at the Phoenix Border Security Expo. Hochul's formal announcement of the bill from the NY Governor's office. And Sheriff Akshar of Broome County explaining why his department will continue assisting ICE regardless.
President Trump has returned to the sanctuary-state dispute repeatedly on Truth Social — a steady drumbeat of federal-funding threats, mass-deportation framing, and direct attacks on Democratic governors who restrict ICE cooperation. The following posts are quoted verbatim per their original news-outlet coverage.
EFFECTIVE FEBRUARY FIRST, NO MORE PAYMENTS WILL BE MADE BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO STATES FOR THEIR CORRUPT CRIMINAL PROTECTION CENTERS KNOWN AS SANCTUARY CITIES. ALL THEY DO IS BREED CRIME AND VIOLENCE! If States want them, they will have to pay for them!
Quoted by The Hill and Newsweek — Trump linking federal funding to ICE cooperation.
ICE must do all in their power to achieve the very important goal of delivering the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History … and expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in America's largest Cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York.
Paraphrased commentary · not a verbatim post
Paraphrased by NBC NY in coverage of the federal Mass Deportation directive.
She just blurted out, 'it's President Trump's fault.' No, Kathy, it's your fault, and now looking over the facts, you should not have allowed this to happen.
Quoted by ABC7 NY — Trump on Hochul during a separate New York operational dispute.
We have an incompetent Governor (Newscum) and Mayor (Bass) who were, as usual (just look at how they handled the fires, and now their VERY SLOW PERMITTING disaster. Federal permitting is complete!), unable to handle the task.
Trump's broader sanctuary-state framing extends from CA permits to NY ICE bans.
X has been the rapid-response forum for this fight — Nassau County Executive Blakeman, Rensselaer Executive McLaughlin, the governor's office, and the Border Czar all firing on the same news cycle. The posts below are paraphrased from public coverage of the X feeds; their X accounts are live and confirmed.
Kathy Hochul can make my day, because as far as I'm concerned, we're enforcing federal law in Nassau County, and a lot of the sheriffs throughout the state feel the same way. They're mad as hell.
Let me absolutely guarantee this low IQ and dangerous Governor Hochul that Rensselaer County will once again ignore your stupidity just as we did with Cuomo constantly. We WILL continue to work with I.C.E and we will continue to participate in the 287g program to protect our people.
My new Local Cops, Local Crimes Act will keep our police focused on local crime — not on enforcing federal civil immigration law. These abuses — and the weaponization of local police officers for civil immigration enforcement — will not stand in New York.
Governor Hochul, I'm not asking either. I said it. We're going to do it. We're going to flood the zone in New York. You're going to see more ICE agents than you've ever seen before. They can put all the roadblocks they want, but we're going to do this job.
NY is the 8th. The operational pattern in the prior 7 is consistent: ICE doesn't disappear — it pivots from jail-handoff to community arrest teams, and detainees get flown out of state to ICE-friendly facilities (Texas, Louisiana, Indiana, Wisconsin). That pivot is the “collateral arrest” Homan flagged.
California(TRUST Act 2013, SB 54 “Sanctuary State” 2017): zero active 287(g) MOAs; ICE relies on standalone field operations and federal task-force agreements. The FY24 LA/SF/SD operations show the model.
Illinois (TRUST Act 2017, Way Forward Act 2021): zero 287(g); ALL local-jail detention contracts with ICE banned. ICE-McHenry and ICE-Pulaski detention facilities closed; detainees shipped to Indiana / Wisconsin.
New Jersey (AG Directive 2018-6): no 287(g); county jails forbidden from holding ICE detainees. Hudson County and Bergen County terminated multi-million-dollar ICE detention contracts. NJ Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) was personally denied entry to the Delaney Hall ICE facility in Newark on May 26, 2026 — the most recent ICE-state confrontation, covered in the Civic Intelligence companion page.
Massachusetts (Lunn v. Commonwealth 2017 SJC ruling): state police cannot honor civil ICE detainers; no formal 287(g) ban statute but no active MOAs.
Oregon (1987 sanctuary law + 2017 expansion): zero 287(g).
Washington (Keep Washington Working Act 2019): zero 287(g).
Connecticut (TRUST Act 2013, 2019 amendments): zero 287(g).
Delaware (HB 145, 2022): zero 287(g).
Blakeman and McLaughlin's defiance points at a constitutional fight, not a political one. Their argument: federal law preempts state law in the domain of immigration enforcement, and a NY statute that obstructs federal officers in the performance of their duties is unconstitutional under In re Neagle (1890) and the Supremacy Clause.
“This law is doomed from its outset. The federal government has plenary authority over immigration. A state law that obstructs federal officers in the lawful performance of their duties is unconstitutional under In re Neagle and the Supremacy Clause.”
Hans von Spakovsky, Heritage Foundation · Fox News · May 8, 2026
The counter-argument is anticommandeering: the federal government cannot compel state officers to enforce federal law. That doctrine — Printz v. United States (1997), Murphy v. NCAA (2018) — is exactly what permits sanctuary jurisdictions to refuse to honor ICE detainers. NY's position will be that 287(g) is voluntary federal partnership, not a federal command, and a state can lawfully forbid its own officers from voluntarily entering such partnerships. Both sides are setting up a constitutional test the Supreme Court has not directly resolved.
Kathy Hochul (D-NY) — Governor. Sponsored GPB #18 (Local Cops, Local Crimes Act) Jan 30, 2026. Folded into the May 21 budget.
Letitia James (D-NY)— Attorney General. Publicly aligned with Hochul's position; no formal AG opinion in this dispute yet.
Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-NY) — Senate Majority Leader. Floor passage May 21.
Carl Heastie (D-NY) — Assembly Speaker. Floor passage May 21.
Andrew Gounardes (D-NY-26 Brooklyn) — State Senator. Architect of the broader NY For All immigration package.
Karines Reyes (D-Bronx) — Assemblymember. NY For All Assembly sponsor.
Ed Ra (R-NY)— Assembly Minority Leader. “New York is now a sanctuary state on steroids.”
Juan Figueroa (D-Ulster)— Ulster County Sheriff and NYSSA President. Backs Hochul. First Latino president in the association's 94-year history.
Fredrick J. Akshar II (R-Broome)— Broome County Sheriff. “Hill we're prepared to die on.”
Todd Hood (R-Madison)— Madison County Sheriff. Blakeman's LG nominee.
Eric Butler (R-Cattaraugus)— Cattaraugus County Sheriff. Called Hochul “a fool.”
Michael Filicetti (R-Niagara) — Niagara County Sheriff.
Bruce Blakeman (R-Nassau)— Nassau County Executive. GOP gubernatorial nominee. “Mad as hell” quote. Promised federal lawsuit.
Steve McLaughlin (R-Rensselaer) — Rensselaer County Executive. Defiance on X.
Tom Homan— Border Czar (Trump appointee). “Flood the zone.”
Laurin Bis — DHS Acting Asst. Secretary (Trump appointee). Public attacks on Hochul.
Donald J. Trump (R) — President. Truth Social campaign linking sanctuary states to federal funding cutoffs.
Hochul (D-NY) voided 14 ICE-cooperation MOAs across 9 NY counties in one budget vote. The state sheriffs' association president (D) backs her; a dozen upstate Republican sheriffs do not. Border Czar Tom Homan promised to “flood the zone.” Nassau Co. Exec Bruce Blakeman (R), the GOP nominee challenging Hochul, called the sheriff reaction “mad as hell” and is preparing a federal lawsuit on preemption. The fight in court starts next. The 7 states that did this before NY tell you what comes operationally: ICE doesn't disappear — it shifts from jail-handoff to community arrest teams, and detainees get flown out of state.