Facebook photo of ICE in Yonkers on Nepperhan Ave.
By Dan Murphy
White House Border Czar Tom Homan is living up to his word of increasing ICE operations in New York State after Governor Kathy Hochul and the State legislature passed a series of laws prohibiting local law enforcement from cooperating with ICE in removing illegal or undocumented residents.
“ICE is operating across the state today, but there’s going to be a surge, and there needs to be a surge. But I am not going to show our hand because there are groups who will try to impede and interfere,” said Homan.
Reports in Yonkers confirm recent ICE activity on Nepperhan Avenue and in the Park Hill neighborhood of the city. While there is no cooperation between the Yonkers Police Department and ICE, or with any Westchester law enforcement and ICE, ICE activity continues.
Governor Hochul and NYAG Letitia James announced that the new Office of Immigrant Trust (OIT), a first-of-its-kind statewide bureau within the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), sent letters to the 12 local law enforcement agencies in New York that currently have 287(g) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), informing them that state law requires they unwind the agreements by August 25, 2026. Created as part of a legislative package championed and signed by Governor Hochul on May 27, 2026, OIT is dedicated to enforcing New York laws that protect immigrant communities, strengthen public trust, and limit the use of state and local resources for federal civil immigration enforcement. As part of its duties, OIT will receive complaints, provide guidance to state and local agencies, conduct investigations, and take legal action when necessary to ensure compliance with state law.
“New York is strongest when every community is able to trust the institutions meant to serve them,” said Attorney General James. “The Office of Immigrant Trust will help ensure that schools, local governments, and public agencies remain places of safety and support, rather than agents of the federal administration’s campaign of fear and intimidation. My office is proud to stand up for immigrant New Yorkers and prepared to hold anyone who violates our laws accountable.”
“Nobody is above the law. In New York, we will not tolerate the diversion of local resources for federal civil immigration enforcement at the expense of public safety. That is why we passed a commonsense set of laws standing up against federal overreach and ensuring that local law enforcement is not deputized by the highest funded law enforcement agency in the country,” said Governor Hochul. “My top priority is keeping New Yorkers safe. Ensuring our law enforcement remains focused on local crimes is essential to protecting our communities and maintaining public safety.”
New York law now prohibits local governments and law enforcement agencies from participating in any formal or informal 287(g) agreement and using correctional facilities, juvenile detention facilities, and facilities for youth to house federal civil immigration detainees. Under the new state law, existing 287(g) agreements must be terminated by August 25, 2026.
Section 287(g) agreements allowed local officers or employees to engage in or assist with federal civil immigration enforcement or otherwise perform the functions of federal immigration officers, eroding trust between immigrant communities and local institutions, and making residents less likely to report crimes, seek help, or cooperate with law enforcement. The Local Cops, Local Crimes Act prohibits local governments and law enforcement agencies from entering into 287(g) agreements or similar arrangements that use local resources to detain people for federal immigration violations. This provision ensures that New York’s local law enforcement resources are directed toward local public safety priorities, rather than the federal government’s mass deportation agenda. Through OIT, Attorney General James will ensure that municipalities comply with New York law and that state and local institutions remain focused on protecting and serving New Yorkers.
The OIT was established as part of a package of state laws designed to limit state and local involvement in federal civil immigration enforcement, safeguard local resources and public safety, and protect immigrant communities across New York. These laws:
Restrict the use of state and local resources for civil immigration enforcement;
Limit sharing certain sensitive information with federal immigration authorities;
Implement new protections for students and families in schools; and
Ban local governments and law enforcement agencies from having or entering into agreements for civil immigration enforcement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
New Yorkers who witness federal enforcement actions anywhere in the state should report them to OAG through the federal action portal. New Yorkers who believe that a state or local agency, employee, contractor, school, or other covered entity has violated state laws related to civil immigration enforcement are encouraged to contact the OAG hotline at 1-800-771-7755. The Office of Immigrant Trust will also be launching an online civil complaint form in the coming weeks.
Some NY law enforcement agencies have indicated that they will defy the Governor and the AG and continue to partner with ICE. Most are in upstate NY and on Long Island.
Yonkers large Latino population of more than 40% is sounding the alarm over ICE and their activities across the region. The biggest complaint we hear, and agree with, is that ICE is detaining residents who have lived in Yonkers for a long time and have not committed a crime.
Some of the best coverage of ICE activity in Westchester and the Hudson Valley can be found on the Facebook page of Ignacio Acevedo, https://www.facebook.com/iggyacevedo, who provides videos and photos of ICE activity from, in recent months, Port Chester, Ossining, Croton on Hudson, White Plains, Peekskill, New Rochelle, Mt. Kisco, Tarrytown and Yonkers.
The Facebook group, Yonkers Sanctuary Movement/Movimiento Santuario Yonkers, https://www.facebook.com/YoSanctuaryMovement, recently held a “Justice and Peace Vigil , to honor the parents and all the people who have been murdered by ICE,” held at St. John’s Church in Getty Square.