A wave of lawsuits has emerged as sheriffs in multiple states challenge new laws preventing them from partnering with federal immigration enforcement agencies, setting up a clash between local law enforcement leaders and state governments over who controls immigration policy at the community level.
Fifteen sheriffs in New York filed suit against their state last week over legislation that prohibits local law enforcement from signing cooperation agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Federation for American Immigration Reform, a conservative advocacy organization focused on reducing immigration, is providing legal representation for the sheriffs.
The disputed agreements, known as 287(g) programs, authorize local police to assist ICE and deputize officers to carry out certain federal immigration enforcement functions. These partnerships have expanded significantly during President Trump's second term as the administration pursues aggressive deportation objectives that rely heavily on coordination between federal agencies and local authorities.
New York's "Local Cops, Local Crimes Act" took effect on Tuesday, August 26, 2026. The legislation also established the Office of Immigrant Trust. Within days, the sheriffs filed their challenge and submitted an emergency motion requesting that courts prevent the state from invalidating existing 287(g) agreements.
Wayne County Sheriff Robert Milby, whose rural jurisdiction sits along the northern border between the United States and Canada, is among the plaintiffs. While his county does not currently operate under a 287(g) agreement, the lawsuit states he initiated steps in 2025 to join a warrant service officer version of the program, which trains local police to serve and execute administrative warrants on migrants held in local jails.
"Local crime, while it manifests locally, most of the time it's international in origin," Milby told NPR, citing crimes involving fentanyl and other drugs as examples. He argued that addressing and preventing such crimes demands seamless collaboration among local, state, and federal authorities.
"Throughout history the only way that law enforcement is successful is when all levels work together," Milby told NPR.
Milby framed the legal action as a matter of local authority rather than immigration policy itself.
"This is about the overreach of our governor deciding what's best for our local governments," he told NPR. "I answer to the voters. I don't answer to the governor. I don't answer to the attorney general. I mean, what does Albany know about the local law enforcement needs of Wayne County? They don't."
Governor Kathy Hochul has characterized the lawsuit as a misuse of public funds, expressing confidence that courts will rule in the state's favor. Legal experts suggest she may be correct in that assessment.
Roderick Hills Jr., a law professor at New York University, noted that courts in previous cases have upheld the authority of states to impose regulations on cities and towns within their borders.
"The city has no right against the state that created it. Think of it as like cities are the children of the state, the state is the parent. You need the parents' consent to go on a field trip," Hills told NPR.
A comparable legal dispute unfolded in Texas in 2017 over immigration enforcement. The state enacted Senate Bill 4 that year, which prohibited "sanctuary cities" — local governments that decline to enforce federal immigration laws. Texas sued Travis County for noncompliance with the statute. A federal appeals court subsequently sided with the state and upheld the majority of the law.
Similar confrontations between local law enforcement and state governments are occurring across the nation. Seventeen sheriffs in Maryland have filed suit against their state over its 287(g) ban, also represented by the Federation for American Immigration Reform. In New Mexico, the attorney general is seeking a court order compelling two county sheriffs to terminate their agreements with ICE.
The federal government has entered the fray as well. In June, the Justice Department filed lawsuits against Virginia and New York, challenging in part these state-level 287(g) prohibitions.
As the New York litigation proceeds, a dozen sheriffs who had previously signed ICE cooperation agreements have dissolved those partnerships or announced plans to do so in compliance with the new law. The state is enforcing the statute aggressively, having already filed suit against one sheriff's agency for failing to comply.
