Nassau County has become the first county in the U.S. to strike an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help deport criminal and illegal immigrants, Republican county executive Bruce Blakeman announced Wednesday.
Unlike the rest of New York, the suburban Long Island county is not considered a sanctuary for illegal aliens. The state as a whole, including nearby New York City, saw a rapid increase of migrant arrivals since spring 2022.
“One of my first executive orders as county executive was to declare that Nassau County is not a sanctuary county,” Blakeman said during his State of the County address Wednesday evening.
“To that end, we are working with ICE and our other federal law enforcement partners to remove or incarcerate those who commit criminal acts and live in the U.S. illegally,” he added. “We will work with the Trump administration to stop the flow of fentanyl coming from Mexico and China into our neighborhoods.”
Rensselaer County, located east of Albany, has been arresting and deporting criminal immigrants since 2018 through ICE’s 287(g) program, which grants local police the power to enforce federal immigration laws. After Nassau County signed onto the same program last month, Blakeman set aside 50 prison cells for detained immigrants and deputized ten detectives to enforce immigration law.
It’s unclear how the program differs from the federal cooperation agreement between Nassau and ICE that Blakeman touted, and whether Rensselaer is considered the first county to have signed such an agreement.
In addition to declaring Nassau a non-sanctuary county, Blakeman previously banned men from competing in women’s sports before President Donald Trump did so nationwide, and prohibited public mask-wearing amid the recent surge of antisemitism. He cited those historic achievements during his address.
Also on Wednesday, border czar Tom Homan visited Albany to criticize state Democrats’ pro-sanctuary policies that have protected illegal immigrants for years. But now under the Trump administration, immigration officials are ramping up the pressure on blue states to comply.
Homan threatened to double the number of ICE agents in New York state if Governor Kathy Hochul fails to comply with the federal government’s immigration enforcement efforts, such as mass deportations.
“New York State, you gotta change the sanctuary status. If you don’t, get out of the way. Because we’re going to do our job,” Homan said.
Trump’s border czar delivered that message while appearing alongside Republican state lawmakers to push for the repeal of New York’s Green Light Law, which allows illegal immigrants to get their driver’s licenses and blocks federal authorities from accessing DMV data. Homan also expressed support for a state version of the federal Laken Riley Act, which would allow state and local law enforcement to cooperate with ICE. Given Republicans are the minority party in the legislature, the bill likely won’t become law.
Hochul was not present in the New York State capitol at the time of Homan’s visit, although New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani accosted Homan as the latter walked by a crowd of protesters. Homan appeared unfazed.