Blakeman yields on NY law ending local ICE ties, but keeps limited cooperation

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman abandoned his bid to challenge New York’s law banning formal 287(g) cooperation with ICE, but said he will still have police cooperate with ICE where possible and will join a sheriffs’ lawsuit challenging the measure. The law bars 287(g) partnerships and prohibits local jails from holding people for ICE. Hochul defends the law as a way to curb aggressive enforcement and let local police focus on local crime, while critics say it compromises safety. Nassau’s East Meadow jail has housed more than 1,000 inmates since Oct. 2025, and a Newsday report found 147 detained immigrants had prior violent-crime convictions; Blakeman argued that some arrests of undocumented individuals could have led to longer pre-trial releases if not handed over to ICE.