A new bill introduced by Gov. Kathy Hochul could void the Broome County Sheriff’s Office agreement with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The bill, which Hochul announced on Jan. 30, would bar counties and municipalities from entering into formal cooperation pacts with federal immigration authorities.
Eight counties, including Broome County, and three small villages in New York currently have 287(g) agreements that could be voided by the legislation.
The announcement comes after the killing of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse in Minneapolis, which sparked protests nationwide and throughout New York, including a recent rally in Binghamton.
The legislation would bar state and local police from “acting as federal agents” or “using taxpayer-funded resources or personnel to carry out federal civil immigration enforcement,” according to Hochul’s announcement. It would also prohibit federal agents from using local detention centers for “civil immigration enforcement, mass raids or the transportation of detainees.”
“Over the last year, federal immigration agents have carried out unspeakable acts of violence against Americans under the guise of public safety,” Hochul said. “These abuses – and the weaponization of local police officers for civil immigration enforcement – will not stand in New York.
“Today, I’m announcing new actions that will safeguard our communities against dangerous federal overreach and ensure that New York law enforcement is focused on keeping New Yorkers safe – not doing the job of ICE.”
What BCSO’s ICE agreement means in Broome County
In March 2025, Broome County Sheriff Fred Akshar announced corrections officers working in the Broome County Jail will be assisting ICE by participating in the warrant service officer portion of ICE’s 287(g) program.
The program, according to ICE, authorizes state and local law enforcement to perform “specified immigration officer functions” including executing administrative warrants within the jail.
The sheriff’s office does not participate in any active immigration enforcement activities in the community, rather the program applies only to individuals already incarcerated in the jail, according to the sheriff’s office. The jail has housed federal detainees for the U.S. Marshals, ICE and the FBI for over two decades.
The announcement led to a public outcry. In April, nearly 30 people gathered outside the Broome County jail calling for an end to the sheriff’s cooperation with ICE. A few weeks later, a public safety town hall hosted by the Broome County Sheriff’s Office and the Endicott Police Department became a shouting match as protestors in the crowd of over 100 residents decried the sheriff’s decision to cooperate with ICE.
Most recently, protesters gathered outside of the jail in December 2025 to protest the imprisonment of Guan Heng, a Chinese whistleblower seeking asylum who was arrested by ICE. Heng was later granted asylum.
At a SUNY Broome conference on Feb. 4, Hochul again addressed the proposed legislation and said even when it comes to the warrant service portion of the program, local agencies “should not be helping ICE with civil enforcement.”
“Our jails should be used for local criminals. (ICE) has the resources for their own detention centers − they have them in New York already,” Hochul said.
If passed, Hochul’s proposed legislation would end the sheriff’s offices’ agreement with ICE. To this, Akshar said on Feb. 4 that the sheriff’s office is “interested in seeing more details on this proposal,” and will “remain focused on protecting and serving the people of our community by enforcing the law, not making the law.”
“As always, any changes to current laws would be enforced in service of the people of Broome County,” Akshar said.
Southern Tier activists speak out
As part of a national effort, an “ICE OUT” vigil and rally was held on Feb. 1, a collaborative effort organized by Indivisible Binghamton. Heng’s mother, Luo Yun, announced during the event that her son was granted asylum on Jan. 28.
For Justice and Unity in the Southern Tier President Andy Pragacz, Hochul’s proposal is “late and coming up short.”
“The bill has important parts that must be enacted immediately, but it does not go nearly far enough,” Pragacz said in a statement on Feb. 4.
Pragacz said JUST believes Hochul must get behind the New York for All Act, a bill that if passed would prohibit state and local government agencies, including police and sheriffs, from colluding with ICE, disclosing sensitive information and diverting personnel or other resources to further federal immigration enforcement, according to the New York Immigration Coalition.
Another act, the Dignity not Detention Act, would prohibit governmental entities from entering into agreements to house individuals in immigration detention facilities and it would require the termination of existing contracts. Supporting these two proposals would show a “real commitment to protecting New Yorkers,” Pragacz said.
“JUST has asked the state to step in for years to provide jail oversight − advocating for bills to reform the state commission of corrections, conduct hearings on abuses in Upstate NY jails, do proper death investigations and much more,” he said. “Since our inception, we’ve called for the jail to stop holding people for the federal government. That was 10 years ago.”
As of Dec. 15, Pragacz said there were 50 to 60 people within the Broome County Jail who have been detained by ICE. Since August 2024, the jail’s population jumped 50%, according to Pragacz.
While Hochul called for the resignation of U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem after Pretti’s death, Pragacz said the governor standing with Daniel F. Martuscello, the Commissioner of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision who “presided over a system with 264 officially unexplained deaths” since 2000 is “utter hypocrisy.”
“She calls for accountability at the federal level, but fails to advance for incarcerated New Yorkers and their families,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Hochul pushes to void ICE, Broome County Sheriff’s Office agreement
Reporting by Jillian McCarthy, Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin / Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
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