A suburban New York county’s agreement with federal authorities to empower local police officers to conduct immigration arrests is being challenged in court by civil rights advocates.
A lawsuit filed Tuesday argues the agreement between Nassau County and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced in February violates state law, undermines individuals’ rights and will lead to racial profiling.
Dozens of other police departments around the U.S. have similar partnerships, known as 287(g) agreements, with ICE, but only a handful exist in New York, where state law limits when police agencies can cooperate with federal immigration officials. The agreements ramp up the number of immigration enforcement staff available to ICE as it aims to meet President Donald Trump’s mass deportation goals.
Broome County and Niagara County officials also reached agreements with ICE this year, joining Rensselaer County, according to the New York Civil Liberties Union, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Diocese of Long Island, immigrant and refugee advocates and two Long Island residents. Nassau County is on Long Island just east of New York City.
“This unlawful agreement isn’t about safety, reason, or the rule of law — it’s about fear mongering and needlessly hurting immigrant communities.” Rubin Danberg-Biggs, Skadden fellow at the New York Civil Liberties Union, said in a news release.
In announcing the agreement, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican and Trump ally, said 10 county police detectives would be given the same authority as federal immigration agents and work with them to detain immigrants who are in the country illegally.
Blakeman said police would check the immigration status of people charged with crimes and notify ICE if they are there illegally. The arrangement also includes embedding officers with ICE and providing jail cells for short-term detainment until arrestees can be handed over to federal authorities.
“We are not aware of any lawsuit at this time,” Blakeman spokesman Chris Boyle said late Tuesday, “and while we typically do not comment on litigation, County Executive Blakeman is confident that all measures taken to protect communities in Nassau County are legal and properly authorized.”
An email seeking comment was sent to ICE.
About 22%, or more than 300,000, of Nassau County’s 1.4 million residents are immigrants, according to Melanie Creps, executive director of the Central American Refugee Center, one of the lawsuit’s plaintiffs.
“The 287(g) agreement between ICE and the Nassau County Police Department has created fear, eroded trust, and made immigrants, and all of our communities, less safe,” Creps said. “It undermines public safety by deterring immigrants from seeking help or reporting crimes.”