Federal officials will deputize hand-picked Nassau County cops to crack down on illegal immigrants as part of a controversial new deal that defies the state’s sanctuary status, details of the agreement reveal.
The pact between the county and the feds would designate 10 county cops to train with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, giving them unprecedented authority to detain illegal and criminal migrants without warrants on their turf — at the county’s expense, The Post has learned.
The deal also mandates that Nassau police hold migrants until ICE can take them into custody, which flies in the face of the state’s controversial policy not to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
“Nassau County is the first county in America to have a fully comprehensive agreement with ICE under the 287(g) program, and will continue to work with ICE to keep our county safe from unvetted illegal immigrants who commit crimes such as poisoning our young people with fentanyl,” Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said in a statement this week.
Section 287(g) of the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act authorizes ICE to delegate certain federal immigration functions to local and state law enforcement agencies.
President Trump cited the statute in January when he signed an executive order as part of his promised crackdown on illegal and criminal immigrants in the US.
Blakeman was an early supporter of the move, and vowed to work with ICE earlier this month.
According to a copy of the agreement reviewed by The Post, ICE will train the Nassau cops for one year, both in person and in virtual sessions, with the feds having the right to reject any nominees.
All of the chosen county officers have to be US citizens and have to pass thorough background checks.
Once trained and cleared to join the squad, the county officers will report to ICE and will have the authority to interrogate any migrant they believe is illegal or guilty of a crime, and the “authority to arrest without a warrant any alien entering or attempting to unlawfully enter the United States.”
The Nassau officers will also have the power to arrest migrants without warrants for felony crimes as well as for immigration law violations, which are civil law infractions, the agreement said.
Any migrants found to be illegal have to be held for ICE or turned over to the feds, including after they are released from jail or police custody in state criminal cases — a sticking point between the two jurisdictions.
According to the agreement, the county picks up the tab, “including salaries and benefits, local transportation and official issue material,” although some costs may be reimbursed.
It’s a deal that doesn’t sit well with Gov. Kathy Hochul and officials in Albany — as well as immigration advocates.
Hochul has said that she will let state police cooperate with ICE when there is an outstanding judicial warrant for a migrant, but won’t help in larger round-ups and federal immigration sweeps.
“What we have are some renegade counties in New York because individual counties can sign a pact with ICE and we have a lot of them, some on Long Island some in upstate New York where there’s different political views,” the governor told reporters Monday.
“They are cooperating with their local police departments, but what I control is the state police, and they will not cooperate in that,” she said.
New York is among the states in the US that passed sanctuary statutes to protect immigrants from federal authorities, including a decree that local law enforcement is not to cooperate with ICE nor detain illegal migrants until immigration agents can show up to take them into custody.
The arrangement has long been a source of frustration for immigration authorities — but lawmakers in the Empire State and other sanctuary jurisdictions defend the right to limit ICE’s reach into local communities.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James, who could opt to file a lawsuit to try to block the Nassau County deal with the feds, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Officials at the New York Civil Liberties Union reiterated it’s stance on the issue, directing The Post to a statement the agency released in February condemning ICE deal with local law enforcement.
“Local law enforcement have no place doing ICE’s bidding and enforcing laws outside their expertise — in fact, New York state law prohibits officers from holding someone for civil immigration purposes,” it said. “Blakeman should publicly release the terms of this agreement and explain how it will be implemented. But the best course would be for Nassau County to rescind this dangerous partnership immediately.”
Nassau officials, meanwhile, are sticking to their guns.
“The county attorney, at the direction of County Executive Blakeman, is corresponding with the United States Department of Justice concerning the county’s belief that federal law supersedes state law,” Nassau County spokesman Chris Boyle said in a statement.
“The New York State Attorney General’s interference is frustrating the goals of the Trump administration and the Blakeman administration to keep our communities and country safe,” Boyle said.
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