By Hank Russell
Both New York State and the federal government are suing each other over immigration enforcement. The state claims that its newly enacted laws emphasize safety and accountability of law enforcement and the federal government is attempting to deny the state’s right to do so. The federal government, meanwhile, contends that the state’s laws prevent them from doing their job and that the state laws endanger the safety of immigration agents.
On June 23, Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James sued the Trump administration to protect a new package of state laws that they say establish critical accountability measures with regards to immigration and law enforcement operations in New York.
One of the laws, set to take effect on June 26, prohibits local, state, and federal law enforcement officers from wearing masks or face coverings while interacting with the public and requires all officers to display clear identification. The Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, another of the bills signed into law, precludes local governments and law enforcement agencies from entering into agreements to operate as immigration officers or to detain people solely for federal civil immigration violations. The law also prohibits the use of public subsidies for civil immigration detention facilities.
After New York enacted this comprehensive package, the federal administration vowed to attack the legislation, and, last week, notified the state it intended to sue imminently. White House Border Czar Thomas Homan has also threatened a surge of federal immigration agents to punish New York for enacting the laws. In response, Hochul requested that James ask the court to declare that the laws are legal and to prevent the Trump administration from interfering with New York’s authority to protect public safety, promote transparency, and govern the use of state and local resources.
The suit names acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and David J. Venturella, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as defendants.
In the lawsuit, Hochul and James contend that the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act does not violate the Supremacy Clause and the face covering ban “supports public safety in the State in multiple ways. As one example, the provision promotes accountability of law enforcement officers to the public when law enforcement violates rights or unlawfully commits violence against residents.”
Further, according to the lawsuit, the federal government violates the Tenth Amendment regarding states’ rights.
“By hiding their faces and refusing to wear identification, federal immigration officers endanger New Yorkers and intentionally evade accountability,” James said. “Our communities should not have to live in fear of being disappeared by unidentified masked agents. If the federal government wants to brazenly defy our laws, then we will fight tooth and nail in court to ensure transparency and keep all New Yorkers safe.”
“A badge carries with it a responsibility to uphold the public’s trust. New Yorkers deserve to know who is enforcing the law in their communities and have the assurance that local resources are being deployed to protect public safety, not to intimidate or advance the agenda of a rogue federal agency,” said Hochul. “These laws reflect New York’s values, and we’re not going to let anyone bully us into abandoning them.”
That same day, the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) filed a lawsuit over the ban on face coverings, naming Hochul, James and Michael Russo, assistant AG in charge in the Buffalo regional office as defendants. The lawsuit said that the ban is an illegal attempt to regulate the federal government; further, as alleged in the complaint, the law threatens the safety of federal officers who have faced an unprecedented wave of harassment, doxing, and even violence. Threatening officers with prosecution for simply protecting their identities and their families, the DOJ claimed, also chills the enforcement of federal law and compromises sensitive law enforcement operations.
“Law enforcement officers risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe, and they do not deserve to be doxed or harassed simply for carrying out their duties,” Blanche said. “New York’s anti-law enforcement policies regulate the federal government and are designed to create risk for our agents. These laws cannot stand.”
“Governor Hochul cannot tell Federal officers how to do their job,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. “And she certainly cannot prohibit them from ensuring their own safety in conducting Federal law enforcement operations. Our suit today stops New York’s unconstitutional efforts.”
“The Department of Justice will steadfastly protect the privacy and safety of law enforcement from unconstitutional state laws like New York’s,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
Long Island Life & Politics reached out to the White House for comment. They referred LILP to the DOJ and DHS. LILP is waiting to hear back.