Fifteen New York sheriffs are seeking immediate relief from a state law that restricts local law enforcement agencies from entering or maintaining formal cooperation agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The sheriffs filed their legal challenge in federal court, arguing that the law interferes with their authority and conflicts with federally authorized immigration enforcement partnerships.

The dispute centers on New York’s “Local Cops, Local Crimes Act,” which took effect in August and requires local agencies to end certain 287(g) agreements with ICE. Those agreements allow participating local officers, under federal supervision, to perform specific immigration enforcement functions.

The sheriffs are asking the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York to issue a preliminary injunction suspending enforcement of the restrictions while the lawsuit proceeds. Their attorneys argue that the state cannot force independently elected sheriffs to abandon agreements they entered into with the federal government.

The case has also intensified after New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Rensselaer County Sheriff Kyle Bourgault and the county for refusing to terminate an ICE agreement. Meanwhile, the sheriffs maintain that local officials should retain the authority to determine whether cooperation with federal immigration authorities is appropriate for their communities.

A federal judge is now considering whether to grant the requested preliminary relief. The outcome could affect how New York’s restrictions on local-federal immigration cooperation are enforced while the lawsuit's broader constitutional and federalism questions are litigated.