Federal judge denies New York sheriffs’ request to block state ban on local ICE agreements

A federal judge has declined to halt New York’s ban on local immigration-enforcement agreements while 15 county sheriffs challenge it in court. U.S. District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino denied the sheriffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction in a 28-page decision dated Nov. 4 in Albany.¹

D’Agostino wrote that “Plaintiffs have not established a likelihood that they have capacity to sue Defendants for the alleged constitutional violations,” and that she would not reach the merits of their claims.¹ The lawsuit continues; the docket lists Dec. 3 as the deadline for the governor, the attorney general and the state to answer the complaint.²

The law

The Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, Executive Law § 170-k, bars local governments, law enforcement agencies and correctional facilities from entering, renewing or remaining in agreements under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which lets federal officials authorize local officers to carry out immigration functions. It also covers contracts to house or detain people for federal civil immigration violations.³¹ Gov. Kathy Hochul signed it May 27, and it took effect Aug. 25, the day the sheriffs sued.¹⁴

The statute does not bar compliance with a court order or judicial warrant, and it allows detention space for people facing pending federal criminal charges.³ The complaint says housing agreements for civil immigration detainees become void Nov. 25.⁴ A companion law, Executive Law § 63-e, created the Office of Immigrant Trust within the attorney general’s office, with investigative, subpoena and civil enforcement powers.¹⁴

The court’s reasoning

The decision turned on a New York rule that local governments and their officers generally cannot bring constitutional challenges against the state, subject to four exceptions. The sheriffs argued one, known as the “dilemma” exception, which applies when obeying a state law would itself force a violation of a constitutional prohibition. D’Agostino wrote that they had not identified what constitutional provision compliance would make them violate.¹

She cited a New York Court of Appeals statement from November 2025 that it had “found no case in which a court has held” the exception applicable, and added: “At this stage, Plaintiffs have not demonstrated that this case is likely to be the first.”¹ The decision says the sheriffs’ motion papers did not argue their Supremacy Clause claim or the home-rule exception, although the complaint includes Supremacy Clause and home-rule claims. In August, the same judge denied the federal government’s request to block the same law.¹

What each side says

The complaint calls the sheriffs “independently elected constitutional officers” who “possess the authority to make their own judgments about whether and how to participate” in federal cooperation.⁴ Their reply brief, as quoted in the decision, argued that “an independently elected sheriff may indeed sue in his official capacity to protect the duties of his office.”¹

The state argued the sheriffs “lack the capacity to sue the State to challenge the validity of a duly-enacted statute.”¹ When the suit was filed, Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James called it “a frivolous waste of taxpayer dollars” in a joint statement.⁵ After the ruling, James wrote on X, “Local law enforcement should be focused on keeping New Yorkers safe,” and “We will continue to defend our laws in court,” CNY Central reported.⁶

What the records do not show

• The decision does not rule on whether the law is constitutional; it addresses only the sheriffs’ likely capacity to sue at this stage.
• The docket as of Nov. 8 shows no appeal of the decision by the sheriffs. The one notice of appeal listed, from Sept. 30, came from a non-party and concerns a stricken letter.²
• The records reviewed do not show how many of the 15 sheriffs still hold agreements covered by the law.
• SignalData did not open James’s post on X and found no statement on the ruling from Hochul or the sheriffs.