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    Caribbean immigration advocates in New York have welcomed a lawsuit by New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James against the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office in upstate New York for failing to comply with the state’s Local Cops, Local Crimes Act that prevents collusion with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The legislation prohibits New York State and local law enforcement agencies and local governments from entering into or maintaining 287(g) agreements with ICE for federal civil immigration enforcement and requires any agreements in place to be terminated by Aug. 25, 2026.  Rensselaer County Sheriff Kyle Bourgault has refused to terminate its 287(g) agreement.  “We applaud Attorney General Letitia James and Governor Hochul for taking every step necessary to ensure that New York’s law enforcement agencies remain accountable to the communities they serve and focused on keeping all New Yorkers safe, not carrying out ICE and the Trump administration’s deportation agenda,” Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), told  Caribbean Life on Thursday. NYIC is an umbrella organization of over 200 immigrant and refugee groups in New York State.  “Every law enforcement agency in New York has a duty to serve and protect every resident, while upholding state and local law,” Awawdeh said. “Instead of complying with the new state law, the Sheriff’s Office in Rensselaer County has chosen to defy state law, putting political posturing ahead of its responsibilities and obligations to its community.  “This lawsuit makes clear that no one is above the law, not even an elected sheriff,” he continued.  Earlier on Thursday, James and Hochul announced the lawsuit against the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office for failing to comply with New York’s Local Cops, Local Crimes Act (LCLCA). “All law enforcement agencies are expected to uphold New York’s laws,” said Attorney General James. “The Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office has been given every opportunity to follow the law, yet has chosen not to.  “My office is suing to enforce New York’s laws and ensure that local law enforcement agencies remain focused on their most fundamental responsibility: keeping New Yorkers safe,” she added.  Governor Hochul said: “Compliance with the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act is not optional. Rensselaer County’s failure to act in accordance with the law sends a clear message: these elected leaders are not serious about New Yorkers’ safety. “Today, we are taking action to ensure the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office performs the duties required of it under state law, because no one in New York State is above the law,” she added.  James said section 287(g) agreements are agreements between ICE and state or local law enforcement agencies that allow local officers to perform certain federal civil immigration enforcement functions. Depending on the agreement, she said local officers can be authorized to question, arrest and detain Caribbean and other immigrants for suspected violations of federal civil immigration law.  The New York Attorney General said LCLCA, signed into law by Hochul on May 27, 2026, prohibits local law enforcement agencies from entering or remaining in these agreements with the federal government.  She said the law required agencies that already had these agreements to exercise their termination provisions within 90 days, by Aug. 25, 2026.  “Any covered agreement still in effect on that date is deemed void and unenforceable under state law,” said James, stating that the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office has maintained a 287(g) agreement with ICE since March 2020.  After the LCLCA was enacted, she said the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) notified the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office of the new law and requested information regarding the status of the agency’s 287(g) agreement.  James said the OAG did not receive a response confirming that the agreement had been terminated or would be terminated by the Aug. 25 deadline.  On Aug. 19, she said OAG issued a formal investigative demand pursuant to New York Executive Law Section 63-E, or subpoena, seeking documents sufficient to show what actions the agency had taken to terminate its 287(g) agreement.  The New York attorney general said OAG still has not received confirmation that the agreement has been terminated.  “Meanwhile, officials in Rensselaer County have made public statements indicating their intent to defy the law, with one telling a reporter that OAG and the Governor’s Office ‘could take that letter, crumple it up and shove it,’” James said.  She said that, of the 12 law enforcement agencies that had 287(g) agreements before the LCLCA took effect, the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office is the only one that has not indicated its intent to dissolve its agreement. The state alleges that the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office has failed to perform duties required of it under state law.  James said the suit requests that the Rensselaer County Supreme Court order the Sheriff’s Office to exercise the termination provisions in its 287(g) agreement and to declare the agreement void and unenforceable under New York law.  She said Thursday’s lawsuit is the first legal action brought by the OAG’s newly established Office of Immigrant Trust (OIT) under the LCLCA.  James said the OIT was created to enforce New York laws limiting state and local involvement in federal civil immigration enforcement, and is authorized to investigate potential violations and bring civil actions when warranted.  She said that, in June, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a federal lawsuit challenging the LCLCA.  But, on Aug. 3, the US District Court for the Northern District of New York denied the federal government’s request to block New York’s ban on 287(g) agreements, allowing the state’s Aug. 25 deadline to unwind these agreements to remain in effect. Following an unprecedented escalation in aggressive Trump administration immigration enforcement, Hochul said she has been fighting to protect New Yorkers from federal actions that “indiscriminately target” Caribbean and other immigrant communities. Earlier this year, she signed what she characterized as “one of the most comprehensive laws in the nation to rein in ICE and prevent Trump’s overreach” by prohibiting local governments, state and local police, and state and local corrections from entering into 287(g) Agreements or similar agreements with the federal government that allow for state and local law enforcement personnel and facilities to be used for civil immigration enforcement purposes. The laws also prohibit state, local, and federal officers from wearing face covering while interacting with the public. In addition, among other things, the governor established a state law under which New Yorkers can bring a lawsuit against federal, state and local government officials for a violation of their constitutional rights, and keep immigration authorities out of sensitive locations.
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