Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood isn't confused about what New York wants from him. Attorney General Letitia James sent his office a formal warning on July 24, directing it to end its agreement with ICE and report back by Aug. 14.
Hood's answer was equally clear: He'll end the contract, but he won't stop calling ICE when criminal suspects in his jail are wanted for immigration violations.
NY Sheriff Defies Kathy Hochul's New Law That Seeks to Block Law Enforcement from Working with ICE via @WestJournalism https://t.co/kLPjeKzRq6
— Michael Papier (@PapierMich47737) July 31, 2026
New York's Local Cops, Local Crimes Act bars state and local agencies from participating in federal civil immigration enforcement through Section 287(g) agreements.
NY Governor Orders All New York Sheriffs to Terminate Cooperation With ICE.
— GRANDPA’s FREE ADVICE (@GOP_is_Gutless) July 31, 2026
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has ordered county sheriffs to end their 287(g) agreements with ICE, directing them to terminate cooperation on civil immigration enforcement under a new state law. pic.twitter.com/2cduDM4SPd
Gov. Kathy Hochul signed it on May 27, and existing agreements become void on Aug. 25. James notified 12 police and sheriffs' departments that her new Office of Immigrant Trust will enforce the law.
The statute therefore prohibits your agency from conducting civil immigration enforcement pursuant to your Section 287(g) agreement, effective immediately upon the Governor’s signing the legislation on May 27, 2026. See Exec. L. § 170-k(2)(a). The statute also requires your agency to terminate its agreement with ICE and provides that the Section 287(g) agreement will be deemed null and void in its entirety as of August 25, 2026. See Exec. L. § 170-k(7); Local Cops, Local Crimes Act § 4. In light of this new state law, we request that you submit information to our office regarding the status of your Section 287(g) agreement, including any ongoing activities pursuant to that agreement and steps you have taken to comply with the termination requirement. This can be in the form of a letter and/or documents sufficient to demonstrate your current activities under the agreement, the status of the agreement, and your plans for termination.
Hood says he'll comply with the ban on formal agreement. He also says the state can't force his department to pretend ICE no longer exists. When somebody enters the Madison County jail on a criminal charge, his deputies will continue notifying federal agents and honoring requests to transfer the inmate into federal custody.
Since September 2025, Hood's department has honored seven ICE detainers. The inmates involved had been charged with rape, driving while intoxicated, robbery, and criminal possession of a weapon.
Each case began with a criminal booking, not an immigration sweep through homes, workplaces, or houses of worship.
Albany's defense sounds clean on paper; local police should handle local crime while federal agents handle civil immigration enforcement. Hochul says cooperation with ICE diverts resources from public safety.
Hood's seven cases expose the weakness in that claim. Calling federal agents about someone already sitting in a county jail requires little disruption and may prevent ICE from making a riskier arrest later in a neighborhood.
The 287(g) program gives trained local officers limited authority under ICE supervision. Madison County used the warrant service model, which allows designated officers to serve civil immigration warrants on removable foreign nationals already held in jail. Transfers occur in a controlled setting rather than after release.
James is enforcing a law Albany passed. The law still creates an upside-down priority. New York officials are willing to warn local sheriffs against helping remove accused offenders while insisting their policy protects the public.
People living in Madison County may reasonably wonder who gains when communication between two law enforcement agencies is deliberately cut.
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The constitutional fight is already in federal court. President Donald Trump's Justice Department argues New York violated the Supremacy Clause by targeting federal immigration partnerships, interfering with existing contracts, and obstructing powers Congress gave the federal government.
New York maintains that it can control how state and local resources are used.
A judge will decide where the line belongs.
Hood hasn't claimed he can ignore every part of the law; he plans to terminate the agreement, then continue cooperating with ICE when criminal defendants enter his jail. James's office may challenge his reading, especially when a transfer rests on a civil detainer rather than a judicial warrant.
His refusal is narrower than the political fight suggests, but the principle reaches beyond one contract. Albany wants county jails separated from federal immigration enforcement even when the inmate arrived on a criminal charge.
Hood believes law enforcement agencies should share information and transfer custody safely.
Sheriffs are selected to protect the counties they serve, not to help state officials isolate local jails from federal agents. Hood has chosen the people who live under his watch.
New York may drag him into court for it, but voters already know where he stands.
New York’s political leaders want to punish sheriffs who cooperate with federal immigration agents, even when accused offenders are already sitting in county jails. PJ Media keeps digging into the policies and consequences others avoid. Join PJ Media VIP today and get 60% off with promo code FIGHT.
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