A statement by Cattaraugus County Sheriff Eric Butler
I want the people of Cattaraugus County to understand what Governor Hochul’s new law actually does—and what it does not do.
After extensive consultation with legal counsel, I have determined that the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office must withdraw from its 287(g) agreement to comply with the new state law.
Let me be clear: I am complying because I will not unnecessarily expose our employees, our county, or our taxpayers to legal jeopardy—not because I agree with this law or believe it serves any legitimate public-safety purpose.
Despite the governor’s political rhetoric, this law does not prevent us from cooperating with ICE or our other federal law-enforcement partners on criminal matters. The Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office will continue assisting federal authorities with criminal investigations, locating individuals with valid criminal arrest warrants, and apprehending dangerous offenders.
What the law prohibits is our participation through a formal 287(g) agreement in civil immigration enforcement—something our deputies were not doing in the first place.
The real practical effect is that Albany has eliminated our ability to receive federal compensation under the agreement for the time our trained deputies spend supporting these law-enforcement efforts. We may continue performing lawful work with federal authorities to pursue wanted criminals and protect the public, but Cattaraugus County taxpayers will now be expected to absorb the personnel costs.
Governor Hochul and Attorney General James recently declared:
“New York taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for any collaboration with ICE.”
Governor, that is exactly what your law accomplishes.
The federal government was willing to compensate our Office for work performed through the 287(g) program. Your law eliminates that compensated agreement while still allowing us to cooperate with federal authorities on criminal matters. Our deputies will continue doing the work when public safety requires it—but now our local taxpayers will be left paying the bill.
The governor made another revealing statement today. She said:
“Once they’re convicted and do their time, we work with ICE to ensure they’re deported.”
That may sound reassuring from behind a podium in Albany, but it ignores the reality created by the governor’s own criminal-justice policies.
Under New York’s bail laws, many offenses are not eligible for bail. In those cases, judges generally must release the defendant on their own recognizance or under nonmonetary conditions while the criminal case is pending. Sheriffs cannot simply keep someone locked in jail until conviction because the governor says that is how the process should work.
Governor Hochul cannot have it both ways.
She cannot tell the public that criminal offenders will remain here to answer their charges, complete their sentences, and then be transferred to ICE while ignoring the fact that her bail policies require many defendants to be released long before their cases reach trial.
When the law requires us to release someone, we release them. If ICE must then locate that person somewhere in the community, the arrest becomes more difficult and potentially more dangerous for federal agents, local officers, the individual involved, and the public.
Our 287(g) agreement provided a safer and more controlled way to cooperate. Her policies dismantle that process and then pretend the risks do not exist.
This demonstrates just how out of touch the governor is with what actually happens in our courts, our jails, and our communities. She announces one policy at a podium without acknowledging how it collides with the policies she previously imposed.
The governor also says local law enforcement should focus on keeping our communities safe. I agree. Locating people with valid criminal warrants, apprehending dangerous offenders, sharing information with federal partners, and preventing wanted individuals from remaining in our communities is precisely how we keep Cattaraugus County safe.
Governor Hochul is celebrating a law that prohibits civil immigration work our Office was not performing, does not stop our criminal cooperation with federal authorities, and eliminates federal compensation for work our deputies may continue performing.
That is not meaningful public-safety reform. It is political theater paid for by local taxpayers.
Governor Hochul gets the headline she wants. Our deputies continue protecting the public. Cattaraugus County taxpayers get the bill.
Although I must comply with this law while it remains in effect, I will not remain silent about its hypocrisy or its consequences.
Today, I am joining 21 other New York sheriffs in filing suit against Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James to challenge the State’s action.
Compliance is not agreement, and it is not surrender.
The Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office will continue working with ICE, the FBI, the DEA, the U.S. Marshals Service, and all our federal law-enforcement partners regarding criminal matters. We will continue pursuing wanted criminals, protecting our communities, and doing the job the people of this county expect us to do.
The difference is that Governor Hochul has decided you—the local taxpayer—should pay for work the federal government was willing to compensate us to perform.
It is ridiculous. It is wasteful. It exposes just how disconnected this administration is from the realities facing local law enforcement and local taxpayers.
The people of Cattaraugus County deserve to know exactly who is responsible.
