By 5 Towns Central Staff

NASSAU COUNTY, NEW YORK (August 27, 2026)

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman says the county will comply with New York’s newly enacted restrictions on cooperation with federal immigration authorities, while simultaneously joining a federal lawsuit challenging the law.

Blakeman announced the decision Wednesday, one day after legislation signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul took effect. The measure prohibits local governments from maintaining formal cooperation agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and places additional limits on local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration officials.

Blakeman, a Republican candidate for governor who is challenging Hochul in November, said Nassau’s attorneys examined potential avenues for avoiding the new requirements but ultimately determined that the county was legally obligated to comply.

“I am a law and order county executive,” Blakeman said, while describing the new law as harmful and dangerous. He said Nassau would follow the law’s requirements but indicated that the county would continue communicating with ICE in ways permitted under the new rules.

The county executive also announced plans for Nassau to join a federal lawsuit brought by sheriffs from 15 other New York counties. The lawsuit argues that the state law is unconstitutional and improperly limits local officials’ ability to make decisions concerning public safety.

Rensselaer County remains the only municipality that has not yet complied with the state’s directive to terminate its ICE agreement, according to Blakeman. The county is led by Executive Steve McLaughlin and Sheriff Kyle Bourgault.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman says the county will comply with a new state law banning local partnership agreements with ICE, despite strongly opposing the measure.

The announcement came one day after the state attorney general issued subpoenas to Nassau’s police and… pic.twitter.com/JHlo1HqNQH

— Newsday (@Newsday) August 26, 2026

The announcement came after Hochul warned Nassau and other jurisdictions that resisted the new law that the state could pursue legal action against them. Hochul defended the legislation as a measure intended to protect residents’ rights and allow local police to focus on enforcing state and local laws.

Blakeman strongly criticized the policy, warning that he believes restricting cooperation with federal immigration authorities could contribute to increased crime, drug overdoses and disorder. He said responsibility for any serious crimes committed by illegal immigrants would ultimately rest with Hochul and state Democratic leaders.

The law was enacted amid intense debate over the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies. In addition to ending formal local agreements with ICE, the legislation restricts certain forms of informal cooperation between local police departments and federal immigration authorities.

Hochul spokesperson Alexia Nizhny said local governments cannot selectively decide which state laws to follow, arguing that compliance would safeguard residents’ rights, allow police to concentrate on local public safety matters and strengthen communities.

Kathy Hochul prohibits our local law enforcement from cooperating with ICE, putting radical politics above public safety. Police officers and corrections officers are telling me the same thing: they feel abandoned by her. Hochul even fired 2,000 corrections officers for… pic.twitter.com/0OTNru1lui

— Bruce Blakeman (@NassauExec) August 27, 2026