County executives and sheriffs across New York State have been sent letters reminding them that they have to end any agreement to house or detain people for federal civil immigration violations by November 25th. Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James announced Friday that the Office of the Attorney General's Office of Immigrant Trust sent a letter to those officials to ensure compliance under the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, which was signed in May. Under that law, local governments are prohibited from housing civil immigration detainees in local correctional facilities on behalf of federal immigration authorities. Hochul and James add that the law does not prevent a local agency from contracting for detention space for people facing federal criminal charges, as long as the agreement does not include detention solely for a federal civil immigration violation. They say it also does not stop any agency from complying with a state or federal court order or judicial warrant.
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