Budget Legislation Affecting Interactions with Immigration Enforcement Chapter 55 of the Laws of 2026

17 Jun 2026

Budget Legislation Affecting Interactions with Immigration Enforcement
Chapter 55 of the Laws of 2026

Effective Date: Most provisions are in effect; face-covering and identification requirements effective June 25, 2026.

Synopsis: As part of the state budget process, Governor Hochul has signed Chapter 55 of the Laws of 2026, which restricts how state and local government agencies – including police and other law enforcement agencies – may participate in immigration enforcement. This bulletin analyzes the six provisions most relevant to police chiefs and command staff. Prompt review of departmental policies, intergovernmental agreements, and officer training is advised.

Scope and Key Terms
Throughout the law, “immigration enforcement” and “civil immigration enforcement” refer to enforcement of the civil provisions of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).¹ These terms do not include criminal investigations or arrests, or any action taken under the New York State Penal Law or other state, local, or federal criminal statutes. When an officer investigates or arrests an individual for a crime – whether a misdemeanor or felony – that is criminal law enforcement, fully within the officer’s lawful authority regardless of immigration status, and nothing in the new law limits it.

Chapter 55 also does not eliminate an officer’s duty to honor a federal judicial warrant. Warrants and orders issued by a U.S. District Court judge or a federal magistrate judge – Article III judges² – require compliance. Immigration court judges are not Article III judges; they are U.S. Department of Justice administrative law judges exercising administrative, not judicial, power. Documents issued by immigration courts, including removal orders, do not satisfy the new law’s judicial warrant requirement. Before treating any document as a valid judicial warrant, officers should confirm it bears the signature of a U.S. District Court or federal magistrate judge and should consult their applicable legal counsel.

Lastly, the law does not expressly address local participation in federal task forces. The new law’s restrictions track the narrow definition of immigration enforcement as noted above, participation in task forces engaged in criminal law enforcement – narcotics, gangs, weapons, human trafficking, organized crime – is not prohibited on the face of the law, provided the task force’s purpose and the officer’s assigned functions are genuinely criminal-investigative in nature. Questions and concerns about participation, or continued participation, in a federal task force should be referred to your applicable legal counsel.

¹The Act’s civil provisions include administrative removal (deportation) proceedings, visa-overstay enforcement, and other actions taken solely to determine or act upon a person’s immigration status.
²“Article III judges” are federal judges appointed under Article III of the U.S. Constitution, as distinguished from administrative law judges.

Part I: “Local Cops, Local Crimes Act” (in effect)

Chapter 55 adds Executive Law § 170-k barring certain agreements between state and local agencies and federal immigration authorities. State and local law enforcement agencies may not:

Enter into, modify, renew, remain in, or extend any agreement under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Both formal and informal 287(g) agreements are prohibited.
Enter into any contract, intergovernmental service agreement, or other formal or informal agreement to house or detain individuals for federal civil immigration violations.

287(g) agreements are agreements where local officers can be deputized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Services to perform federal immigration enforcement functions. Existing 287(g) agreements are declared void and unenforceable under the new law, and agencies must exercise any applicable termination provision immediately. For agreements to house or detain individuals for civil immigration violations, agencies have three months from the effective date to exercise termination provisions, after which those agreements are likewise void and unenforceable.

The law does not bar all federal agreements. Agreements with a federal law enforcement agency for detention space for individuals subject to pending federal criminal charges remain lawful, provided no such agreement houses individuals held solely for civil immigration violations.

What You Need to Know: Consult with your applicable legal counsel and audit all existing agreements with federal authorities – most notably U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) – for 287(g) participation and detention housing. Engage legal counsel to execute termination provisions where an agreement does not comport with the new law.

Part II: Restrictions on State and Municipal Civilian Employees (in effect)

Chapter 55 adds various Executive Law provisions restricting the use of government resources for civil immigration enforcement by state and municipal employees. Importantly, the definitions of “state employee” and “municipal employee” exclude police officers, peace officers, and civilian employees whose duties require collecting, analyzing, sharing, or presenting evidence or intelligence, or supervising such activity.

The restrictions therefore reach all other non-sworn government employees – including clerical staff, administrative personnel, and contractors performing services on behalf of your agency. Covered employees may not use government resources (including duty time and government property) for immigration enforcement; disclose personally identifiable information to immigration authorities; or inquire about or collect information regarding a person’s citizenship, immigration status, nationality, or country of origin, except as necessary to administer a public program or benefit.

What You Need to Know: The Governor’s State Office of Employee Relations must develop training for covered employees by September 2026. Training must be available to all covered employees, provided to new hires within 60 days and annually thereafter, and conducted during regular working hours at the employee’s regular rate of pay.

Part III: School Restrictions (in effect)

Chapter 55 adds Education Law § 3201-b restricting public-school cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Notably, school resource officers (SROs) are expressly included in the definition of “school personnel” and are bound by these restrictions when acting in their SRO capacity. On school property or at school functions, SROs may not:

Use school resources for immigration enforcement.
Disclose immigration-status information about students or their parents/guardians to immigration authorities.
Inquire about or collect citizenship, immigration status, nationality, or country-of-origin information from students or their parents/guardians.
Grant immigration authorities access to non-public school areas without a valid judicial warrant.
Assist immigration authorities in locating, questioning, or detaining a student without a valid Article III judicial warrant or court order.
Deliver students into ICE or CBP custody solely because a parent or guardian has been arrested or detained, absent a court order authorizing the student’s removal or detention.
Use immigration authorities as interpreters or translators in law enforcement matters on school property.

What You Need to Know: Chiefs with officers assigned as SROs should review those officers’ operating protocols with the participating schools or districts and, in consultation with legal counsel, issue separate operational guidance for SROs where needed.

Part IV: Sensitive Location Restrictions (in effect)

Chapter 55 adds Civil Rights Law § 29 allowing privately owned “sensitive locations” to adopt policies denying immigration enforcement access to non-public areas. The law governs private entities; but officers could be called to respond to sites or are asked to assist with immigration enforcement there. Sensitive locations include licensed childcare programs and providers; health care facilities (hospitals, doctors’ offices, behavioral health providers); houses of worship; housing accommodations; non-public and private schools, nursery schools, and summer camps; higher-education institutions; senior centers, parks, playgrounds, athletic fields, and recreation centers; and polling places during elections.

A sensitive location will not be held liable under New York State law for adopting – or acting on – a policy denying immigration enforcement access to non-public areas. Such locations must, however, yield access when presented with a valid court order or judicial warrant authorizing the arrest of a specific individual present at the location.

What You Need to Know: When officers respond to a sensitive location where ICE or CBP seeks access or assistance:

The private entity may lawfully refuse access to immigration enforcement absent a qualifying judicial warrant.
Officers should not compel or facilitate access on behalf of immigration authorities unless a valid judicial warrant is presented.
Officers retain full authority to respond to criminal matters at these locations as they otherwise would; the law does not limit criminal law enforcement.

Part V: Law Enforcement Face Coverings and Identification (effective June 25, 2026)

Chapter 55 adds Civil Rights Law Article 10 barring law enforcement officers – including police officers, peace officers, and federal officers operating in New York State – from wearing identity-obscuring face coverings while interacting with the public and requiring visible identification. No officer may wear any item that conceals, disguises, or obscures facial identity while interacting with the public in the performance of duties. The following are not prohibited:

Transparent face shields; medical-grade surgical masks or N95 respirators worn to prevent disease transmission.
Masks or apparatus worn for protection against toxins, gas, smoke, or hazardous environmental conditions; masks, helmets, or breathing devices necessary for water rescue.
Motorcycle helmets required for safe vehicle operation; necessary protective eyewear; ballistic gear worn for physical safety.
Camouflage worn for environmental blending; masks or disguises worn for active undercover operations.
Garments worn for religious purposes; sunglasses; facial hair.
Items required by occupational health and safety law, reasonable workplace accommodations, or frostbite protection in conditions the officer reasonably believes could cause frostbite.

Uniformed officers interacting with the public must visibly display the name of the employing agency and at least one individual identifier (such as the officer’s name, badge number, or shield number). Non-uniformed officers (e.g., detectives) must display at least one agency-issued logo, patch, emblem, insignia, or other external identifier clearly showing the officer is a law enforcement officer of that agency acting under color of law. The identification requirement does not apply to officers in active undercover operations or covert surveillance where identification would compromise the investigation; on protective details where visible identification would materially increase security risk to the officer or the protected person or location; or using personal protective equipment for medical or emergency response that temporarily prevents display.

Violating the face-covering prohibition is a criminal offense: a violation for the first offense and a misdemeanor for each subsequent offense.³

What You Need to Know: This provision takes effect at the end of June, leaving a brief window to update uniform policies, issue guidance, and brief staff. The law expressly reaches masked federal agents operating in your jurisdiction, which will create understandable tension. Prepare for questions about if or how your agency will enforce it and consult legal counsel in formulating responses.

³ Under NY Criminal Procedure Law § 140.10, a police officer can only make a warrantless arrest for an offense, (i.e., a “violation”) only if the officer personally observed the offense. Additionally, Criminal Procedure Law § 160.55(2) directs that records of arrest related to violations are to be sealed. It is unclear under the new law, how an officer will be able to determine how a subject has reoffended and qualifies for a misdemeanor arrest.

Part VI: Office of Immigrant Trust (in effect)

Chapter 55 adds Executive Law § 63-e creating the Office of Immigrant Trust within the New York State Attorney General’s Office as the designated enforcement arm for the restrictions above. Its broad investigative and enforcement authority includes the power to:

Solicit and receive public complaints alleging knowing, intentional, or willful violations of these restrictions.
Investigate complaints or suspected violations.
Issue subpoenas, compel witness attendance, administer oaths, and examine witnesses under oath.
Examine, copy, or remove documents or records held by any agency or employer.
Visit and inspect local correctional facilities and speak with persons detained there.
Commence civil actions for injunctive or declaratory relief against agencies found in violation.
Enter into assurances of discontinuance and seek monitoring periods over non-compliant government entities.

What You Need to Know: Municipal law enforcement is subject to direct investigation under this law. Your agency can be investigated and civilly enforced against if a credible complaint alleges a violation – including improper 287(g) activity, detention-housing agreements, or sharing of individual information with ICE. Document compliance steps taken, maintain records of terminated agreements, and ensure officer training is completed and documented.