In a case originating in Suffolk County, a court ruled Wednesday that state and local law enforcement have no authority to arrest and detain people on behalf of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency for deportation purposes.
The Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court, in a 4-0 ruling (full text), upended a policy implemented by former Suffolk County Sheriff Vincent F. DeMarco of detaining for up to 48 hours any person who was subject to an ICE warrant. DeMarco announced the policy one month after the election of President Donald Trump.
Such a policy was “unlawful” under New York law, the court ruled. Shortly after the decision came down Wednesday, Sheriff Errol Toulon, who succeeded DeMarco, issued a staff directive saying: “This practice shall cease immediately.”
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