In an initiative reflecting President Trump’s aggressive stance on immigration, a Long Island county in New York has announced a collaboration with federal authorities to apprehend undocumented immigrants. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican supportive of Trump, revealed on Tuesday that ten police detectives from the county will be granted similar powers to those of federal immigration agents, enabling them to work alongside these agents to detain individuals living in the U.S. illegally following other criminal charges.
This alignment places Nassau County, which has a population of approximately 1.4 million, in a unique position within New York, where state legislation typically restricts local police cooperation with federal immigration officials. Blakeman indicated that the police will investigate the immigration status of individuals charged with crimes and will inform U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if the individual is undocumented. The partnership will also facilitate the embedding of officers with ICE and will allow for short-term detention in county jails until federal authorities can take custody of the individuals.
Blakeman emphasized that the initiative focuses on undocumented individuals who have committed crimes, insisting it is not about general raids but rather a targeted enforcement approach aimed at maintaining the rule of law in New York. The cooperation is made possible under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, which allows ICE to delegate powers to state and local police to conduct certain immigration duties with federal oversight. However, some states and municipalities have placed restrictions on the scope of local law enforcement’s collaboration with immigration agencies.
New York laws generally mandate that police can only detain individuals if there is evidence of a crime, and they cannot arrest someone solely based on their immigration status or previous deportation orders. Additionally, county jails are prohibited from holding individuals solely for non-criminal immigration violations once they finish their sentence or receive a court release order. Recent guidance from the state Attorney General advises against local partnerships with ICE, indicating concerns about legal interpretations in New York.
Civil rights organizations reacted swiftly to Nassau County’s announcement, voicing strong opposition to the program. Susan Gottehrer, representing the New York Civil Liberties Union in the county, described the agreement as a risky measure that may compromise public safety and inadvertently support ICE’s harsh practices. She urged Blakeman to abandon the partnership or, at the very least, provide additional clarity regarding its parameters.
Gottehrer noted that the reluctance of many New York counties to collaborate with ICE stems from the potential erosion of trust within immigrant communities. When local law enforcement function as agents of ICE, it can create an atmosphere of fear among immigrant populations, discouraging them from engaging with police and reporting crimes, ultimately hindering effective law enforcement efforts for everyone.
Bryan Flanagan, acting deputy director for ICE’s New York City office, defended the arrangement as a means of enhancing public safety through the capture and deportation of serious offenders residing illegally in the U.S. The political landscape of Nassau County has shifted toward conservatism recently, with Republicans claiming prominent leadership outside of immigration. Additionally, the immigrant population has seen growth in this region.
According to a 2023 estimate provided by Immigration Research Initiative, over half a million immigrants call Long Island home, constituting about 20% of the population, including those with and without legal status. A separate estimate from the Migration Policy Institute noted that approximately 50,000 undocumented individuals lived in Nassau County as of 2019.
In his critique of New York’s bail system, Blakeman pointed out that many arrested for lesser offenses can be released without financial obligations while awaiting trial. He contended that this new program allows ICE to apprehend undocumented individuals who engage in criminal behavior and may evade accountability, thereby posing a risk to public safety. Blakeman expressed concerns that this cycle of committing crimes without substantial repercussions must be addressed effectively.
