Over the last eight months in New York State alone, local law enforcement agencies have signed nine partnership agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the federal 287(g) program, encompassing six counties. The number of such agreements has exploded nationwide this year, with a total of 958 covering 40 states.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers during a series of “targeted enforcement operations” in 2017. (Flickr/ICE)

One of the main strategies President Donald Trump has pursued to carry out his mass deportation plan in his second term is to “flood the zone” with a slew of policy changes, executive actions, and a growing number of immigration enforcement agents.

New Yorkers have seen all of these, from courthouse arrests to policies restricting immigrant households’ access to benefits and programs.

Now, new 287(g) agreements—in which local law enforcement agencies volunteer to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—must be added to this strategy.

Over the last eight months, as of Sept. 5, nine such Memorandums of Agreement have been signed in New York State alone, encompassing six counties. As a result, thousands of New York immigrants have been detained by ICE.

Named after a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act, this agreement allows state and local law enforcement agencies to perform the duties of immigration officers under three specific models of 287(g) agreements, each with unique functions and powers: 

The Warrant Service Officer Model—dubbed “287(g)-lite”—allows officers to execute ICE administrative warrants on individuals in the agency’s jails. 

The Jail Enforcement Model enables officers to screen individuals in state and local custody for immigration violations and place them into immigration proceedings.

The Task Force Model enables officers to conduct immigration arrests while performing their regular police duties.

This level of cooperation, ICE claims, “enhances the safety and security of our nation’s communities,” though advocates say the arrangements erode trust between communities and local governments. 

City Limits reached out to all local law enforcement agencies involved in such deals, requesting figures on arrests and detentions under 287(g), but most did not provide specific data.

The number of such agreements has exploded nationwide this year, with a total of 958 covering 40 states, according to ICE. Tied for 15th place, New York has the same number of agreements as states such as Indiana and Wyoming.

ICE could reach 1,000 agreements in the coming months if the trend continues, as there are 31 pending 287(g) program applications as of Sept. 5, according to the agency.

All of New York’s current agreements are in counties outside the five boroughs, as New York City has a number of “sanctuary city” policies in place that limit how government agencies can interact with immigration enforcement. 

Earlier this year, after meeting with Trump’s Border Czar Tom Homan, Mayor Eric Adams tried to once again authorize the presence of ICE federal agents on Rikers Island “to investigate criminal activity,” issuing an executive order in April signed by First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro. ICE agents had previously been kicked out of the city jail complex through an executive order a decade ago.

Days later, the City Council challenged Adams’ executive order in court, citing illegality, violations of local sanctuary laws, and saying allowing ICE at Rikers would erode trust between communities and city government. The Council considered the mayor’s action an attempt to appease the Trump administration after the president dropped a federal corruption investigation into the mayor.

On June 13, State Supreme Court Justice Mary Rosado sided with the Council, barring ICE from reopening an office on Rikers Island indefinitely.

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams at a rally in April to oppose the return of ICE agents to Rikers Island. (John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit)

ICE expansion in New York State

The situation outside city limits, however, is different.

For years, the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office was the only office in New York with a signed agreement with ICE.

But that’s changed this year. Back in February, the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office became the first law enforcement agency to sign a new agreement with ICE, introducing a Warrant Service Officer program. According to local advocates, the program has sparked protests and raised concerns about community member safety.

“We’re seeing a lot of ICE raids happening in Westbury,” said Luba Cortés, civil rights and immigration lead organizer of Make the Road New York, referencing a June incident where a group of ICE agents were spotted outside a local school. 

“That sends the wrong tone to community members, right, like why is there massive enforcement right in front of an elementary school?” Cortés added. “So the optics of this are really concerning.”

There have been protests outside of the office of the county executive, Bruce Blakeman, a long-shot candidate for governor and a Trump ally.

In July, a Newsday investigation found that over 1,400 immigrants had been held, and 50 local jail cells set aside for ICE, as part of a Warrant Service Officer agreement signed by the county sheriff, one of the arrangements available under 287(g) that allows local police to transfer detainees to ICE custody.

In March, the Nassau County Police Department (NCPD) signed the most aggressive type of 287(g) agreement: the Task Force Model, which expands local police’s powers to participate in federal immigration enforcement activities while performing routine police duties. According to ICE, this involves training local law enforcement officers in immigration law, multicultural communication, and how to avoid racial profiling. 

A spokesperson from the NCPD said 10 agreement-trained Nassau County detectives are available to work with ICE, though no arrests have been made under the arrangement so far. The spokesperson said those detectives received online training through ICE, but didn’t specify what it entailed.

In June, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), Latino Justice PRLDEF, and the Hofstra Law Clinic sued Nassau County, marking the first lawsuit against a 287(g) agreement in New York State.

The defendants are representing two Long Island residents, as well as three local nonprofits that work with immigrant communities: the Diocese of Long Island, Central American Refugee Center (CARECEN), and HAFALI. 

Jessica Greenberg, CARECEN’s legal director, said the community is particularly fearful, leading to reduced trust in law enforcement and reluctance to call for help when something goes wrong.

“There’s been an increase in individuals who are too scared to call the police, who are in domestic violence situations. People are too scared to even call an ambulance,” Greenberg said.

An NCPD spokesperson, however, said the department has “not seen a change in 911 calls” and that local police “continue to have positive interactions with our residents in all of our communities.”

But the Nassau County Office of Hispanic Affairs, a county government department that connects the Hispanic community with county resources, admits there has been pushback. 

“Some residents express concern and fear, particularly among immigrant families, citing past experiences or perceptions of profiling. Others see it as a necessary step toward enhancing public safety,” said Herb Flores, executive director of the office.

“No one should hesitate to seek help, especially if they are victims of a crime. The safety and well-being of every resident is our priority, regardless of immigration status,” Flores added, assuring that officers won’t ask about someone’s immigration status “particularly if they are victims of a crime or in an emergency.” 

Out of the 10 agreements with ICE in the state, four are Task Force programs and five are Warrant Service Officer programs. Only one of these, the oldest one, signed in 2020 with the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office, is a Jail Enforcement Model, which allows officers to interrogate migrants in jail.

In Camden, an Oneida County village in central New York, the Police Department joined ICE’s Task Force Model program in July, just a week after ICE arrested the owner of a longtime Chinese-American restaurant.

Camden Chief of Police Sean Redden said via email that “this program is relatively new to me and I do not know enough about it to comment.”

The Broome County Sheriff’s Office, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office, and the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office—which signed the most recent agreement—did not respond to City Limits’ requests for comment. 

In April, the Broome County Sheriff’s office said 88 migrants had been held in jail since February. Advocates in the area, located in the state’ Southern Tier region, said the number had climbed to about 140 immigrants by July.

Andrew Pragacz, president of Justice and Unity in the Southern Tier (JUST), said his organization’s members have been visiting the jail for almost a decade. This year, he noticed more people starting to arrive.

“I was able to go visit one guy, who is now deported to Guatemala,” Pragacz said, adding that he was trying to see what conditions migrants were being held in, but many were quickly moved to other facilities.

A 2019 rally against ICE activity in New York City. (John McCarten/NYC Council)

Local advocates in these counties are reigniting the call for a statewide ban on government cooperation with ICE. For several years, state lawmakers have introduced versions of the New York For All, a bill that would limit state and local officers from enforcing federal immigration laws, but it has yet to pass.

Neighboring states such as New Jersey, Connecticut, and Delaware are among the few with no active ICE agreements, some after similar statewide bans. 

Earlier this year, ICE’s arrests, raids, and disruptions in immigrant communities across the state seemed to have built enough momentum for the legislature to pass New York for All by the end of session in June. The bill even got the support of nine New York Congress members, but it didn’t pass.

“We really just want people to focus on New York for All as a campaign that would protect our state and end these 287(g) agreements,” Cortés said. “Tom Homan has made it very clear that New York is going to be a target, and it’s up to the state to step in and protect individuals.”

To reach the reporter behind this story, contact Daniel@citylimits.org. To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

Want to republish this story? Find City Limits’ reprint policy here.

The post Local Police Agreements With ICE Have Exploded in New York—and Nationwide appeared first on City Limits.

By JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday she doesn’t think the detention of hundreds of South Koreans in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia will deter investment in the United States because such tough actions mean there is no uncertainty about the Trump administration’s policies.

The detention of 475 workers, more than 300 of them South Korean, in the Sept. 4 raid has caused confusion, shock and a sense of betrayal among many in the U.S.-allied nation.

“This is a great opportunity for us to make sure that all companies are reassured that when you come to the United States, you’ll know what the rules of the game are,” Noem said at a meeting in London of ministers from the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing partnership focused on border security.

United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem speaks to the media during the Five Country Ministerial meeting at the Honourable Artillery Company in London, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

“We’re encouraging all companies who want to come to the United States and help our economy and employ people, that we encourage them to employ U.S. citizens and to bring people to our country that want to follow our laws and work here the right way,” she told reporters.

The detained Koreans would be deported after most were detained for ignoring removal orders, while “a few” had engaged in other criminal activity and will “face the consequences,” Noem said.

Newly appointed U.K. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood welcomed Noem and ministers from Canada, Australia and New Zealand to the 18th-century headquarters of the Honourable Artillery Company for talks on countering unauthorized migration, child sexual abuse and the spread of opioids.

Mahmood, who was given the interior minister job in a shakeup of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Cabinet on Friday, said the ministers would “agree new measures to protect our borders with our Five Eyes partners, hitting people-smugglers hard.”

The far-flung countries are close allies with some common problems but also widely differ in their approaches to migration. The Trump administration’s program of street raids, mass detentions and large-scale deportations of unauthorized migrants has drawn domestic and international criticism and a host of legal challenges.

Noem says tough measures are an inspiration to others

Noem said there had not been disagreements among the ministers in talks focused on sharing information on criminal gangs, using technology to disrupt their networks and speeding extradition arrangements.

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“I don’t think that the discussion today has covered politics at all,” she said. “It is what resources do we have that we can share so we can each protect our countries better?”

Noem said that “when we put tough measures in place, the more that we can talk about that and share that is an inspiration to other countries to do the same.”

She denied a plan to expand immigration raids and deploy the National Guard in Chicago, which has met with opposition from local and state authorities, was on hold.

“Nothing’s on hold. Everything is full speed ahead,” Noem told reporters, saying “we can run as many operations every single day as we need to, to keep America safe.”

Also attending Monday’s talks were Canadian Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and Judith Collins, the attorney general and defense minister of New Zealand.

UK grapples with migrant crossings

Britain’s center-left Labour government is struggling to bring down the number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats, some 30,000 so far this year. It faces calls from opposition parties to leave the European Convention on Human Rights in order to take tougher action.

The government says it won’t do that, but may tweak the interpretation of the rights convention in British law. It has struck a deal with France to return some migrants who cross the channel and is working on similar agreements with other countries.

Mahmood said Monday that the U.K. could suspend issuing visas to people from countries that do not agree to take back their citizens with no right to remain in Britain, though she did not name any potential countries.

“We do expect countries to play ball, play by the rules, and if one of your citizens has no right to be in our country, you do need to take them back,” she said.

By MELANIE LIDMAN and JULIA FRANKEL, Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinian attackers opened fire on people at a bus stop at during the morning rush hour in Jerusalem on Monday, killing six people and wounding another 12, according to Israeli officials.

An Israeli soldier and civilians who were at the scene shot and killed the two attackers, said police, who later arrested a third person in connection with the shooting. Footage of the attack showed dozens of people fleeing from the bus stop at a busy intersection. The windshield of a bus was riddled with bullet holes and belongings were scattered across the street.

The war in Gaza has sparked a surge of violence in both the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Israel. Palestinian militants have attacked and killed Israelis in Israel and the West Bank, while there has also been a rise in settler violence against Palestinians. Monday’s shooting — at a major intersection, with a road leading to Jewish settlements in east Jerusalem — was the deadliest in Israel since October 2024.

Paramedics who responded to the chaotic scene said broken glass covered the area, and people wounded lay unconscious on the road and a sidewalk near the bus stop. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar identified the attackers as Palestinian.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the scene some two hours after the shooting. Netanyahu was supposed to be in court on Monday for his ongoing corruption trial, which was delayed due to the attack. He warned that Israel is “fighting a war on multiple fronts,” including Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel.

Netanyahu praised the soldier who fired on the gunmen who was from a newly-formed unit for ultra-Orthodox soldiers.

Hundreds of security forces arrived at the scene to search for additional attackers or explosives that could have been planted around the area. On Monday afternoon, police said they arrested a resident of east Jerusalem who was connected to the attack.

The Israeli military said it is encircling Palestinian villages on the outskirts of the nearby West Bank city of Ramallah as it steps up defense in response.

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Hamas hailed the attack without claiming responsibility, calling it a “natural response to the occupation’s crimes against our people.”

In October 2024, two Palestinians from the West Bank opened fire inside a light rail train in Tel Aviv, killing seven people and leaving many others wounded. Hamas’ military wing claimed responsibility for that attack, the deadliest in Israel since the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack that started the war in Gaza.

Data from the U.N.’s humanitarian office says at least 49 Israelis, including some soldiers and police, were killed by Palestinians in Israel or the West Bank between the start of the war and July 2025.

During the same period, Israeli forces and civilians killed at least 968 Palestinians in Israel and the West Bank, according to the data. The Israeli military has said many were militants, though the dead have also included stone throwers and uninvolved civilians.

Associated Press writer Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.

By ILLIA NOVIKOV, Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Senior Ukrainian officials led 60 foreign diplomats on a tour of damaged government offices in the heart of Kyiv on Monday, a day after Russia’s largest aerial attack on Ukraine since its all-out invasion began more than three years ago.

Russia’s assault on Sunday involved more than 800 drones and decoys and occurred as months of U.S.-led peace efforts appear to be getting nowhere. Four people were killed as drones hit apartment buildings, and a plume of smoke rose from the capital’s main government building where top officials have their offices.

It’s believed to be the first time a Russian attack has struck the 10-story, Soviet-style building, which was built almost a century ago and has an imposing half-circle facade.

During the tour given to the diplomats, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko showed them burnt-out offices littered with charred debris.

Svyrydenko called the attack a “clear signal that Russia does not want peace and is openly mocking the diplomatic efforts of the civilized world.”

Another deadline by U.S. President Donald Trump, set in August, for the Kremlin to change course or face severe consequences has passed. Trump has shrunk from imposing more sanctions on Russia despite its onslaught and has blamed both sides in the war for the ongoing fighting, even though Ukraine is defending itself from the full-scale invasion launched by its bigger neighbor on Feb. 24, 2022.

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Trump said Sunday that he expected to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the next couple of days and acknowledged that the conflict had proved harder to resolve than he anticipated.

The Russian army apparently is unable to capture significant ground on the 620-mile front line, meanwhile, though it has made creeping advances across rural areas.

Ukraine and European leaders are urging Washington to step up economic sanctions on Russia, whose war economy depends largely on crude oil exports, and on countries which buy its products.

A team of European officials, led by European Union sanctions envoy David O’Sullivan, will visit the U.S. Treasury on Monday to discuss various forms of economic pressure to exert on Russia, including new sanctions, a person familiar with the meeting told The Associated Press. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the meeting.

Ukraine is unlikely to get any relief soon from the overnight bombardments, as Russia tries to grind down Ukrainians’ appetite for the war. Ukrainian officials and analysts have previously warned that Russia intends to escalate its barrages to include more than 1,000 drones per day before the end of the year.

Fatima Hussein contributed to this report from Washington.