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Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman Yields to State Law Dissolving Formal Partnership with ICE

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman announced that the county will end its formal 287(g) cooperation agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This decision follows a new state law signed by Governor Kathy Hochul that bans local police from being formally deputized to assist federal immigration authorities. While Blakeman expressed personal disapproval of the law, he stated he would still instruct local police to cooperate with ICE agents whenever possible. He described the new statute as a "bad and dangerous law" that could make communities less safe by preventing local police from focusing on local crimes. Governor Kathy Hochul defended the law, stating it prevents the administration from using locally funded police to carry out an aggressive immigration agenda. The administration announced that the law allows local police to focus on local crimes. Meanwhile, a federal judge recently rejected a challenge from the administration regarding the state's immigration restrictions. Blakeman will join a lawsuit filed by 15 county sheriffs to challenge the law's constitutionality.

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