Federal officials will represent select Nassau County police officers to crack down on illegal immigration as part of a controversial New Deal that denies the state's sanctuary status.
The agreement between the county and the federal government has given 10 county police officers an unprecedented authority to designate 10 county officers and train with US immigration and customs enforcement agents, detaining illegal and criminal immigrants without detaining detained criminal immigrants at the cost of county's costs.
The deal also requires the Nassau police to detain immigrants until ICE is able to detain them.
“Nassau County is the first county in America to enter into a fully comprehensive agreement with ICE under the 287(g) program and will continue to work with Ice to keep the county safe from unblocked illegal immigrants committing crimes such as addiction to young people with fentanyl.”
Section 287(g) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Liability Act of 1996 allows ICE to delegate certain federal immigration functions to local and state law enforcement agencies.
President Trump cited the law in January when he signed an executive order as part of his promise to crack down on illegal and criminal immigrants in the United States.
Blakeman was an early supporter of the move, vowing to work with Ice earlier this month.
According to a copy of the agreement reviewed by the Post, ICE trains Nassau Cops in both direct and virtual sessions for a year, and the Fed reserves the right to reject candidates.
All selected county officials must be US citizens and pass thorough background checks.
Once trained and cleared to join the squad, county officials have the power to report to ICE, interrogate immigrants who are believed to be illegal or offences of a crime, and have the power to arrest them without a foreigner who attempts to enter or enter the United States.
Nassau officials also have the authority to arrest immigrants without a warrant for felony crimes and immigration law violations, the agreement said.
Immigrants who are found to be illegal must be handed over to the federal government, including fixed points between the two jurisdictions, even after being detained for ice or released from prison or police custody in a state criminal case.
According to the contract, the county is taking up the tab “Includes Pay and Benefits, Local Transport and Official Issues Materials,” but some costs may be refunded.
This is a deal that hasn't sat down well with Gov. Kathy Hochul, Albany officials, and immigration advocates.
Hochul said that if there is a prominent judicial warrant against immigrants, he will ask the state police to cooperate with ICE, but will not be useful for large-scale roundups or federal immigrant sweeps.
“What we have is some treason counties in New York, as individual counties can sign an agreement on ice. We have a lot of them. Some are on Long Island, where there are different political views in upstate New York,” the governor told reporters Monday.
“They work with the local police department, but I manage the state police and they don't cooperate in it,” she said.
New York is one of the US states that passed sanctuary laws to protect immigrants from federal authorities, including a statute that local law enforcement agencies are not cooperating with ice.
The arrangement has long been a source of frustration for immigration authorities, but lawmakers from Empire and other sanctuary jurisdictions defend the right to limit ice coverage to local communities.
New York Attorney General Letia James could choose to file a lawsuit attempting to block Nassau County's deal with the federal government, but he immediately refused to respond to a request for comment.
The New York Civil Liberties Union reiterated its stance on the issue, directing its posting in a statement that the agency released in February denounced ICE transactions with local law enforcement agencies.
“Local law enforcement agencies have nowhere to bid for ice and enforce laws other than expertise. In fact, New York law prohibits officers from retaining someone for the purposes of civil immigration.” “Blakeman needs to publicly disclose the terms of this Agreement and explain how it will be implemented. However, the best course is for Nassau County to immediately withdraw this dangerous partnership.”
Meanwhile, Nassau officials are stuck with guns.
“The county attorney is responding to the U.S. Department of Justice regarding the county's belief that federal law will replace state law in the direction of county Blakeman,” Nassau County spokesman Chris Boyle said in a statement.
“The intervention of the New York Attorney General is frustrating the goals of the Trump and Blakeman administrations to keep our communities and our nation safe,” Boyle said.
