Blakeman Blasts Hochul for Making it "Illegal" to Turn-over Alien Criminal Aliens to ICE

By Leader Staff

New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D-Buffalo) - following the political lead of her NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) - has now made it "illegal" for local officials in New York to detain or turn-over violent criminal aliens to ICE.

And Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has blasted Hochul for unleashing a public safety nightmare - empowering violent criminals while threatening and handcuffing law enforcement.

"This law is completely misguided and will make our communities less safe," stated Blakeman. "It makes it harder for law enforcement to keep our communities safe."

Blakeman called Hochul's actions as "a total disgrace.”

The blood of every crime victim of an illegal criminal alien, “is on the hands of Governor Hochul and the Democrats in the state Legislature,” added Blakeman.

Hochul signed the so-called "Local Cops, Local Crimes Act" into law in June, 2026 - to ban all local police cooperation with ICE - and the law became effective last week, on August 25, 2026. The law was proposed by Hochul and the left-wing Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).  

Nassau County under Blakeman has seen a massive decrease in crimes, as he has strengthened law enforcement, and secured a special agreement between the Nassau Police and the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency to transfer violent criminal aliens from the local police to ICE.

The Nassau County-ICE Agreement, known as a "287(g) Agreement," allowed the Nassau Police to very effectively communicate and coordinate with the federal government when a violent criminal alien was taken into custody in Nassau County.

Blakeman's agreements with ICE also kept that agency's enforcement personnel off local streets - and prevented the sort of violent public confrontations that occurred in Minneapolis and Portland - because, until now - ICE took enforcement direction from the Nassau police.

Now Governor Hochul - at the direction of Mayor Mamdani and the far-left Legislature in Albany - have made that illegal - with civil penalties and potential criminal prosecution of local police and county officials who contact or communicate with ICE.

New York Attorney General mLetitia James (D-Brooklyn) - a close Hochul ally - has already subpoenaed Nassau County to track any communications between county police and federal officials. 

Blakeman met with Nassau County Attorney Thomas Adams to explore “every possible way not to comply with this law,” stated Blakeman, but after reviewing the penalties, they "concluded that we would have to abide by the law.”

“I am a law-and-order county executive,” added Blakeman. "I believe in the rule of law, even when it’s a bad law - and this is a very, very bad and dangerous law.”