Heastie, Stewart-Cousins react to Hochul's new ICE proposal

And a judge in Brooklyn has resigned over alleged 'financial impropriety.'

Good afternoon — It’s Friday and Croissant Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• Gov. Kathy Hochul is sending a bill to the state Legislature for consideration that would block local law enforcement from assisting ICE.

• Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie responded to Hochul’s proposal. Here’s what they said.

• A judge in Brooklyn has resigned after he was accused of engaging in “financial impropriety.”

• Here’s what’s happening at the state Capitol next week.

• A new bill seeks to prevent utility companies from disconnecting elderly customers that can’t pay their bills.

Names in today’s CapCon: Alvin Bragg, Eric Gonzalez, Kathy Hochul, Bruce Blakeman, Jessica Tisch, Brendan Cox, Lee Zeldin, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Andrew Gounardes, Karines Reyes, Edward H. King, Robert H. Tembeckjian, Chinazo Cunningham, Michael Henry, Letitia James

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Hochul on Friday flanked by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg and Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez (New York Governor’s Office)

👮 Hochul wants a new ICE-related proposal passed before the budget

There are eight counties with law enforcement agencies in New York that hold what are called 287(g) agreements with the federal government.

Law enforcement agencies that enter into those agreements can allow their officers to assist federal authorities with identifying and detaining immigrants sought for deportation. They act as an extension of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Nassau County Police Department, for example, arrested a high school student last year and released him into the custody of federal officers, who then transferred him to a detention facility.

The Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office uses their agreement with ICE to identify immigrants when they’re remanded to the county jail. Those immigrants can then be turned over to federal authorities.

The program was not born during the administration of President Donald J. Trump. It’s actually the result of a law approved by former President Bill Clinton in 1996.

But with the federal government now detaining immigrants en masse, those agreements have come under increased scrutiny from Democrats and advocates in New York who want a firewall between those efforts and the activities of local police.

Gov. Kathy Hochul is now one of them. She announced a new proposal Friday that would ban local law enforcement agencies from entering into 287(g) agreements statewide.

“Very simply, local police focus on local crimes, focus on protecting our streets,” Hochul said in Manhattan. “And I’ll work closely with my partners in the Legislature to get this passed as quickly as possible.”

Local law enforcement would still be allowed to assist federal authorities in pursuing individuals accused of certain crimes, she said, though that threshold is unclear. New York has turned over 1,400 immigrants to ICE since late 2021.

If you’ve been following Hochul’s policy agenda this year, you’ll already know that proposal wasn’t part of her State of the State. It also wasn’t included in her executive budget proposal released last week.

But she said Friday in response to a question about what had changed between then and now that it was already on her mind as early as December.

“I announced a number of policies. You’ll be hearing more and this is not the end,” Hochul said. “We’re going to continue doing more and working with the Legislature to get this over the finish line.”

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman (Jim Franco/Times Union)

While Hochul was cooking up that idea last month, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman was just beginning his campaign for governor against her. The Republican is expected to be designated as his party’s nominee at their convention in February.