By Naveen Athrappully
Contributing Writer
Sanctuary jurisdictions in the United States will see more Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel on the ground if they do not allow local law enforcement to cooperate with ICE officers, border czar Tom Homan said in a May 15 interview with the Daily Signal, a national news website.
In the interview, Homan was specifically asked about New York. In January, the state’s governor, Kathy Hochul, proposed the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, which bars state and local law enforcement agencies from signing or maintaining any Section 287(g) agreements with ICE.
Such agreements authorize ICE to delegate certain immigration functions to local and state officers under the agency’s oversight. Local and state officers can detain suspected illegal immigrants under the deal.
If passed, the New York bill would void all existing Section 287(g) agreements in the state. Homan said in the interview that he had talked to Hochul about the consequences.
“I said, ‘Look, you end cooperation in the jails, we’re going to have to send more agents to do the job, because now, rather than one agent arresting one bad guy in the jail, which is safer for the agent, safer for the alien, safer for the community, of course, you’re going to release him. Now we got to send a whole team, six or seven agents, to go find him. So, it’s going to result in more agents in the community,’” Homan said.
“Totally briefed on the whole thing, but she decided to go ahead and do it anyways. Well, I made a statement that we’re going to send more agents to New York. We have to, as a response to this, go arrest those public safety threats.”
When asked whether any sanctuary jurisdiction that doesn’t cooperate with ICE would face more ICE personnel on the ground, Homan replied, “Absolutely.”
The border czar said that he warned Hochul that there would be more collateral arrests if that’s the situation. For instance, if ICE were to arrest a criminal illegal alien, and the individual was with another illegal immigrant, then the second individual would be arrested as well.
Plus, Hochul’s legislation bans ICE from leasing beds from sheriffs in the state, due to which every illegal immigrant arrested has to be flown out of state for detainment. So, if New York locks ICE out of local jails for detaining illegals, “then we’ll simply fly them out,” Homan said.
Earlier this month, Hochul announced that an agreement had been reached with legislative leaders on the key priorities of the fiscal year 2027 state budget, including a provision banning state, local and federal officials from wearing masks while on duty.
“Good luck with the law of banning masks. Federal law always trumps state and local law. And while threats are up over 8,000%, masks is a non-starter, so good luck enforcing that,” Homan said, regarding that provision.
On Jan. 30, while announcing the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, Hochul justified the need for legislation, citing the safety of local citizens.
“Over the last year, federal immigration agents have carried out unspeakable acts of violence against Americans under the guise of public safety,” the New York governor said.
“These abuses — and the weaponization of local police officers for civil immigration enforcement — will not stand in New York. Today, I’m announcing new actions that will safeguard our communities against dangerous federal overreach and ensure that New York law enforcement is focused on keeping New Yorkers safe — not doing the job of ICE.”
Hochul said at the time that 14 law enforcement agencies across nine counties in the state have signed 287(g) agreements with ICE.
New Yorkers in Danger
In a Jan. 30 statement, the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, warned that Hochul’s proposal barring local police departments from partnering with ICE would place New Yorkers in danger.
Between Jan. 20, 2025, and Dec. 1, 2025, New York failed to honor several ICE detainer requests that resulted in the release of 6,947 criminal illegal immigrants into the streets, the agency said in an April 16 statement.
This includes people charged with 2,509 assaults, 392 dangerous drugs offenses, 305 robberies, 300 weapons offenses, 207 sexual predatory offenses, 199 burglaries and 29 homicides.
Meanwhile, in April, a group of lawmakers introduced the Sanctuary City Elimination Act, which aims to ensure that all federal, state and local law enforcement officers can coordinate with ICE without fear of backlash, according to an April 16 statement from the office of Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
“For far too long, sanctuary cities across the nation have sidestepped federal immigration law and created safe havens for dangerous illegal aliens, putting the safety and security of Americans at risk and undermining the rule of law,” Cornyn said.
The act “would ensure local and state law enforcement coordinates with ICE officers, ban certain federal funds from going to sanctuary cities, and allow victims of criminal illegal aliens who are released from sanctuary jurisdictions and reoffend in other states to seek justice.”
