In a state governed by the rule of law, no sworn officer is above the statutes enacted by the legislature. Yet across New York State, a rogue coalition of county sheriffs and local police departments is openly defying state authority, choosing to function as deputized agents for federal deportation operations in direct violation of state law.
On July 24, 2026, New York State Attorney General Letitia James and Governor Kathy Hochul issued a sweeping mandate through the state’s newly established Office of Immigrant Trust (OIT). Formal directive letters were dispatched to 12 local law enforcement agencies demanding that they immediately terminate their Section 287(g) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by August 25, 2026 (with formal status responses due by August 14, 2026).
This enforcement action follows New York’s “Local Cops, Local Crimes Act” (enacted under Executive Law § 170-k in May 2026), which explicitly prohibits local police, sheriffs, and correctional facilities from participating in formal or informal 287(g) agreements, executing civil ICE detainers, or turning county facilities into caging grounds for federal civil immigration detainees.
Despite this clear statutory prohibition, several county sheriffs are publicly pledging insubordination, insisting they will continue working with ICE and prioritizing federal detainee bounty revenue over state law and constitutional civil rights.
The 12 Rogue Agencies and the Officials Responsible
The 12 law enforcement agencies spanning 10 New York counties and municipalities that received formal notices from the New York Attorney General’s Office include:
Steuben County Sheriff’s Office (Sheriff James L. Allard)
Location: Bath, NY (Steuben County)
Sheriff Allard has emerged as an outspoken defender of deputized immigration enforcement, publicly challenging state authority and framing caging agreements as a necessary revenue engine for county coffers.
Wayland Police Department (Police Leadership and Local Administration)
Location: Wayland, NY (Steuben County)
Operating within Steuben County, this local municipal department entered into 287(g) delegation agreements alongside county sheriff operations.
Madison County Sheriff’s Office (Sheriff Todd Hood)
Location: Wampsville, NY (Madison County)
Sheriff Hood responded to the Attorney General’s mandate with open defiance, stating publicly: “This is going to affect me very little... I’m still going to work with ICE. They can’t prevent us.”
Nassau County Sheriff’s Office (County Executive Bruce Blakeman and County Sheriff Leadership)
Location: East Meadow / Mineola, NY (Nassau County)
Under County Executive Bruce Blakeman, Nassau County has aggressively pushed for local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration raids and detention programs.
Nassau County Police Department (Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder)
Location: Mineola, NY (Nassau County)
One of the largest suburban police forces in the nation, maintaining formal 287(g) agreements deputizing local officers for civil federal enforcement.
Niagara County Sheriff’s Office (Sheriff Michael J. Filicetti)
Location: Lockport, NY (Niagara County)
Maintains agreements permitting federal detainee processing and civil immigration holds inside county jail infrastructure.
Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office (Sheriff Kyle Bourgault)
Location: Troy, NY (Rensselaer County)
Rensselaer County has historically maintained one of the earliest 287(g) jail enforcement agreements in Upstate New York, consistently using county facilities for civil immigration holds.
Broome County Sheriff’s Office (Sheriff Fred Akshar)
Location: Binghamton, NY (Broome County)
Operates 287(g) warrants and holds agreements within the Broome County Correctional Facility.
Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office (Sheriff Timothy S. Whitcomb)
Location: Little Valley, NY (Cattaraugus County)
Participates in federal 287(g) delegation arrangements within county jail operations.
Otsego County Sheriff’s Office (Sheriff Richard J. Devlin Jr.)
Location: Cooperstown, NY (Otsego County)
Maintains active 287(g) cooperation agreements with ICE field offices.
Allegany Village Police Department (Police Department Leadership)
Location: Allegany, NY (Cattaraugus County)
A local village department maintaining active 287(g) program authorization.
Camden Police Department (Police Department Leadership)
Location: Camden, NY (Oneida County)
A municipal police department flagged by the state for maintaining active 287(g) operational ties with federal authorities.
Cash for Cages: Steuben County and the Profit Motivation
The material drivers behind this insubordination were highlighted in a field report by Seth Voorhees for Spectrum News, archived in the news video LoveThreads.Net_AQOhZtZJt8jLG5Ny924KGD6zTeYe5KDr0WNJ1rJ0rh5tpacawJveMq1eVkCRIGxq5-YWIhnsUHRZ84DJZB8eLUfoUfe9HZo74om6NJ8.mp4.
Reporting from outside the Steuben County Public Safety Building in Bath, NY, Voorhees detailed how the Steuben County Legislature passed Resolution 16 authorizing Sheriff James Allard to execute 287(g) agreements with ICE. The agreement allows federal ICE personnel to serve civil immigration warrants inside the county jail while sending deputized local sheriff’s personnel on ICE operations across the county.
In the video, Sheriff James Allard openly defended the program and attacked the state’s legislation, stating:
“My own personal beliefs is that it’s a bad law. It makes us less safe, and it puts people in jeopardy.”
However, Sheriff Allard revealed the underlying financial motivation driving county compliance with federal caging programs: holding federal detainees brought $130,000 into Steuben County coffers in the first quarter of 2026 alone through agreements with federal agencies.
This reveals the material reality: local law enforcement agencies are weaponizing local jails as revenue-generating assets for private prison logistics and federal reimbursement checks, turning local taxpayers into unwitting hosts for federal deportation infrastructure.
In response to New York’s state ban, federal Department of Homeland Security Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis attacked the state policy, claiming in an official statement:
“Governor Hochul’s policies of not cooperating with ICE put New Yorkers in danger... When politicians bar local law enforcement from working with DHS, our law enforcement officers have to have a more visible presence...”
Sheriffs Gone Rogue
When local law enforcement officers unilaterally decide which state statutes to obey and which to ignore, the constitutional architecture of local government collapses. If these 12 counties and rogue sheriffs continue to defy state orders past the August 25, 2026 deadline, the consequences are severe:
1. Total Collapse of Public Trust and Public Safety
When local police act as federal immigration agents, immigrant workers, crime victims, and witnesses become terrified to contact emergency services, report domestic violence, or cooperate with criminal investigations. As civil rights groups note, transforming local police into federal deportation officers makes entire communities demonstrably less safe by driving crime victims into the shadows.
2. Severe State Legal Action and Subpoena Powers
Under the newly formed Office of Immigrant Trust (OIT) within the Office of the New York Attorney General, the state possesses direct statutory authority to investigate non-compliant agencies, issue binding administrative subpoenas, examine internal jail logs, and initiate civil enforcement lawsuits against rogue sheriffs and county officials.
3. Millions in Taxpayer Civil Liability and Class Action Lawsuits
Executing civil immigration detainers or warrantless arrests without state statutory authority exposes county governments to massive Fourth Amendment civil rights lawsuits. Federal courts have repeatedly held that holding individuals on civil ICE detainers without a judicial warrant constitutes unconstitutional false imprisonment. Taxpayers in these 12 counties will be left paying millions in legal fees and damages for their sheriffs’ ideological posturing.
4. Constitutional Crisis and Subversion of Democratic Governance
Sheriffs are executive officers tasked with enforcing the law, not legislative bodies empowered to veto state statutes based on “personal beliefs.” Allowing elected sheriffs to operate as autonomous warlords selecting which state civil rights laws to follow undermines democratic governance and establishes a dangerous precedent for lawlessness within law enforcement.
Official Sources and Reference Documentation
New York State Office of the Attorney General Press Release: Attorney General James and Governor Hochul Announce First Enforcement Action by New Office of Immigrant Trust
Official NY OAG Directive Letter to 12 Agencies (PDF): Letter to Law Enforcement Agencies with 287(g) Agreements
Governor Kathy Hochul Official Announcement: Governor Hochul & Attorney General James Announce Enforcement of Local Cops, Local Crimes Act
Media and Legal Analysis:
