New York’s push to unmask ICE agents is on hold after a federal judge blocked provisions of a newly minted state law that restricts local cooperation with immigration crackdowns.
In a Monday ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Mae A. D’Agostino said that the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause doesn’t permit New York to regulate federal law enforcement activities and approved a preliminary injunction blocking the state from enforcing the masking ban.
“New York cannot impose its own uniform requirements on federal agents simply because it disagrees with how the Federal Government is exercising its authority,” she wrote in the ruling.
But D’Agostino also denied the federal government’s request to block New York’s ban on 287(g) agreements between ICE and local law enforcement agencies while the legal challenge plays out in court.
“New York appears to be well-intentioned in its pursuit of transparent policing,” she wrote. “However, the issue now before the Court is about constitutionality — not transparency or preferable policy decisions. There is a constitutional proscription on direct state regulation of federal agency operations.”
“Whether federal law enforcement agencies have chosen to carry out such operations in a sufficiently transparent manner is an important question,” D’Agostino added. “But that question is not for this Court to answer at the present time.”
Hochul signed the “Local Cops, Local Crimes Act” in May that bans state and local law enforcement agencies from helping the federal government in civil immigration enforcement cases and bans ICE agents from wearing masks during operations.
In June, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against New York state challenging the constitutionality of the new law, which lawyers for the DOJ said would make ICE agents and other federal authorities subject “to criminal penalties” for wearing masks to protect their identities. New York responded by filing a counter lawsuit seeking to uphold the new restrictions on immigration enforcement.
Hochul and James recently wrote to nearly a dozen sheriffs in Broome, Madison, Nassau, Rensselaer and other counties, ordering them to terminate their so-called 287(g) agreements. Several sheriffs have said they won’t comply with the demands with the court challenge still playing out.
“Local law enforcement should be focused on local matters, and New York taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for any collaboration with ICE,” Hohcul and James said in a joint statement Monday. “While the court enjoined enforcement of New York’s mask ban, we stand firm in our belief that masked agents do not make New York safer and our offices are reviewing all legal options at this time.”
ICE has faced criticism from many Democratic-led states for allowing its agents to conduct immigration enforcement operations wearing plain clothes and face coverings.
The Department of Homeland Security has defended the practice, saying agents arresting immigrants are hiding their faces for their own safety because they face doxing and increasing threats. Some have been assaulted by protestors during immigration raids.
“Blue states continue to stack losses as they try to pass unconstitutional bans on ICE officers wearing masks,” James Percival, a general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security, posted on X following Monday’s ruling.