Governor Hochul and Attorney General James Sue to Defend New Community Safety Laws

New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James today sued the Trump Administration to protect a new package of state laws establishing critical accountability measures concerning immigration and law enforcement operations in New York. One of the laws, set to take effect this Friday, prohibits local, state and federal law enforcement officers from concealing their identity with masks while interacting with the public and requires all officers to display clear identification. The Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, another of the bills signed into law, ensures local law enforcement can remain focused on local community safety issues by prohibiting local governments and law enforcement agencies from entering into agreements to operate as immigration officers or to detain people solely for federal civil immigration violations. The law also prohibits the use of public subsidies for civil immigration detention facilities.

After New York enacted this comprehensive package, the federal administration vowed to attack the legislation, and, last week, notified the state it intended to sue imminently. White House Border Czar Thomas Homan has also threatened a surge of federal immigration agents to punish New York for enacting the laws. In response, Governor Hochul requested that Attorney General James ask the court to declare that the laws are legal and to prevent the Trump Administration from interfering with New York's authority to protect public safety, promote transparency and govern the use of state and local resources.

"A badge carries with it a responsibility to uphold the public's trust. New Yorkers deserve to know who is enforcing the law in their communities and have the assurance that local resources are being deployed to protect public safety, not to intimidate or advance the agenda of a rogue federal agency," said Governor Hochul. "These laws reflect New York's values, and we're not going to let anyone bully us into abandoning them."

"By hiding their faces and refusing to wear identification, federal immigration officers endanger New Yorkers and intentionally evade accountability," said Attorney General James. "Our communities should not have to live in fear of being disappeared by unidentified masked agents. If the federal government wants to brazenly defy our laws, then we will fight tooth and nail in court to ensure transparency and keep all New Yorkers safe."

Masked federal immigration officers have flooded communities across the country as part of the federal government's mass deportation agenda. These officers have often failed to clearly identify themselves to the public while carrying out enforcement operations, sowing fear, undermining public trust and increasing the risk that bad actors could impersonate law enforcement officers. Across the country, the use of masked and unidentified agents has made it harder for residents to know who is acting under color of law, report misconduct and seek accountability when officers abuse their authority. In one high-profile operation on Canal Street in New York City, masked agents terrified residents and created chaos in the community.

New York enacted these laws to address this growing threat and protect the rights of New Yorkers during federal immigration enforcement operations. The new provisions prohibit law enforcement officers from wearing masks or other face coverings that conceal, disguise, or obscure their identity while interacting with the public, and require officers to visibly display their department and identifying information. The Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, another measure in the package, prohibits local governments and law enforcement agencies from entering into 287(g) agreements or similar arrangements that use local resources to detain people for federal immigration violations. This provision ensures that New York's local law enforcement resources are directed toward local public safety priorities, rather than the federal government's mass deportation agenda.

Two days after this comprehensive legislation passed, the Department of Homeland Security publicly declared that it would attack​ the law as illegal. Last week, the administration notified New York that it intended to sue the state over the legislation and seek emergency relief before the law takes effect.

New York has a sovereign right under the Tenth Amendment to enact laws that protect public safety, promote transparency and regulate conduct within its borders. Governor Hochul and Attorney General James assert that the new laws establish basic public safety and transparency requirements for law enforcement officers operating in New York and protect the state's authority to decide how state and local resources are used.

Governor Hochul and Attorney General James are asking the court to declare that the Trump Administration's efforts to prevent enforcement of the state's new immigration protections violate the Tenth Amendment. They are also asking the court to block the administration from taking any action to prevent enforcement of the laws.