Gov. Kathy Hochul introduced new legislation last week that could nullify the Otsego County Sheriff’s Office agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with 13 other similar agreements throughout the state.
The legislation, according to a Friday, Jan. 30 news release from Hochul’s office, would eliminate 287(g) agreements statewide, blocking state and local police from “acting as federal agents or using taxpayer-funded resources or personnel to carry out federal civil immigration enforcement.”
Federal agents would no longer be permitted to use local detention centers for civil immigration enforcement purposes, mass raids or to move detainees.
“Over the last year federal immigration agents have carried out unspeakable acts of violence against Americans under the guise of public safety. These abuses – and the weaponization of local police officers for civil immigration enforcement – will not stand in New York,” Hochul said in a statement.
The news release stated that the proposal would build on legislation Hochul introduced in her State of the State agenda to “hold federal agents accountable” for actions deemed unconstitutional.
Fourteen law enforcement agencies in the state, spanning nine counties, have signed 287(g) agreements with ICE, the release stated. Under the legislation, the news release stated that all of these agreements would be void. New York would join seven other states barring 287(g) agreements, including Washington, Oregon, California, Illinois, New Jersey, Delaware and Connecticut.
The Otsego County Sheriff’s Office entered into the 287(g) agreement with ICE Oct. 17, according to Daily Star archives. Sheriff Richard Devlin Jr. said Wednesday, Nov. 26 that the Warrant Service Officer Program targets individuals arrested on other charges, who would otherwise be released from the county jail, allowing the county hold them for an additional 48 hours. This is to allow ICE to pick them up from the facility.
He said at the time the program “enhances community safety,” allowing the Sheriff’s Office to “work with ICE to remove potentially threatening individuals.”
The agreement has drawn backlash from community members and groups in recent months. Hundreds of protesters assembled at Muller Plaza in Oneonta Saturday, Jan. 31 to speak out against ICE action throughout the country. Protests have broken out across the United States throughout the past few weeks to condemn national ICE action, especially after ICE officers killed Minnesota residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis in January.
Devlin was not immediately available for comment Monday, Feb. 2.
Virginia Kennedy, group leader of Cooperstown Oneonta Indivisible — which has been vocal about its opposition to the 287(g) agreement the sheriff’s office signed — said Monday the group would be very happy if Hochul was able to “push the law through.”
She said it remained unclear exactly how that could “manifest,” and would depend on the exact language of the legislation.
“Either way, we really don’t want to wait for that to happen,” Kennedy said. “We really want that agreement reversed. Otsego County should not be partnered with ICE in any way, shape or form considering their behavior and how they go about doing their immigration enforcement.”
ICE actions throughout the country have caused “incredible trauma, damage and death,” Kennedy said.
While she said she was happy about the introduction of Hochul’s legislation, the agreement needs to be reversed now. With no state legislation barring such agreements officially in place, the county’s partnership with ICE stands.
“It would be much better for the county and the county’s reputation if the sheriff voluntarily saw the light and said Otsego County should not be partnered with an organization that does its work this way,” Kennedy said.