Hochul backs measure allowing New Yorkers to sue ICE agents for constitutional violations

New York Governor Kathy Hochul supports legislation that would allow state residents to sue ICE officers for violating their constitutional rights.

In his State of the State address on Tuesday, the governor said he wants to allow New Yorkers to “hold ICE agents accountable in court when they act beyond the scope of their duties.”

“This does not interfere with law enforcement or public safety,” Hochul said. “It just confirms a basic truth: Power does not justify abuse. And if someone’s constitutional rights are violated here in New York state, I say that person deserves their day in court.”

Last year, New York State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblyman Micah Lasher proposed measures that would allow private citizens to file lawsuits against federal officials who violate their constitutional rights.

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Lasher’s version quotes Title 42, U.S. Code, Section 1983; This gives people the ability to sue state and local officials for violating their rights. The proposal highlights that New York does not have a law allowing citizens to sue federal officials.

Lasher, who is running for Congress, wrote of X: “ICE terrorizes our communities and violates our civil rights every day. We must be able to hold them accountable.” he wrote, adding that he was pleased with Hochul’s handling of his legislation.

Many states, including California, Massachusetts and New Jersey, have implemented similar laws allowing residents to sue federal authorities.

Hochul also proposed other immigration guardrails, including a measure that would require a judicial warrant so ICE can raid sensitive places like schools, churches and hospitals.

People march during a protest following the murder of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Getty Images)

Earlier this year, the Trump administration reversed the Biden administration’s policy banning the detention of immigrants in these sensitive areas.

The governor also announced that New York “will not authorize the use of state resources to assist in federal immigration raids on persons who have not committed serious crimes.”

Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin claimed in a statement to The Hill that Hochul “continues to denigrate law enforcement officers who simply enforce the rule of law and risk their lives to remove violent criminals from New York.”

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U.S. citizen Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in Minnesota. (Getty Images)

McLaughlin also argued that there has been an increase in threats against federal law enforcement, who he claimed demonstrated “incredible restraint and professionalism in exhausting all options before any non-lethal force was used.”

This debate intensified after a while Latest incident in MinneapolisIt’s where U.S. citizen Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent during an enforcement action. Protests followed in many cities, and Democrats and local residents condemned the attack and called for criminal charges against the agent.

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The Trump administration and Republican lawmakers defended the incident, arguing that it was a justified shooting.

Authorities are also investigating a second ICE-involved shooting in Minneapolis on Wednesday, as the mayor continues to demand that the agency leave the city and state.