Hochul backs measure allowing New Yorkers to sue ICE agents for constitutional violations
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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is supporting legislation that would allow state citizens to sue ICE agents for violating their constitutional rights.
The governor said Tuesday during his State of the State address that he wants to allow New Yorkers to “hold ICE agents accountable in court when they do things outside of their jobs.”
“This does not affect law enforcement or public safety,” Hochul said. “It just proves a fundamental truth: Power does not excuse abuse. And if constitutional rights are being violated here in New York state, I say he deserves his day in court.”
Last year, New York State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblyman Micah Lasher proposed measures to allow private citizens to file lawsuits against federal officials who violate their constitutional rights.
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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is supporting legislation that would allow state citizens to sue ICE agents for violating their constitutional rights. (Julia Nikhinson/AP Photo)
Lasher’s version cites Title 42, Section 1983 of the US Code, which allows people to sue state and local officials for violating their rights. The proposal highlights that New York does not have a law that allows citizens to sue government officials.
“Every day, ICE is harassing our communities and violating our civil rights. We must be able to hold them accountable,” Lasher, who is running for Congress, wrote on X, adding that he is glad Hochul is taking up his law.
Many states, including California, Massachusetts and New Jersey, use similar laws that allow citizens to sue government officials.
Hochul has also proposed other immigration enforcement agencies, including a measure to require court warrants before ICE can raid sensitive places like schools, churches and hospitals.
People march during a protest after the killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Getty Images)
Earlier this year, the Trump administration rescinded the Biden administration’s policy barring immigration detention in these sensitive areas.
The governor also announced that New York “will not allow the use of state resources to assist in the attack on people from other countries who have not committed serious crimes.”
The spokeswoman for the Department of Public Safety, Tricia McLaughlin, in a statement sent to The Hill, pointed out that Hochul “continues to insult law enforcement officers and put their lives on the line to take out violent criminals in New York.”
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Renee Nicole Good, an American citizen, was shot and killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in Minnesota. (Getty Images)
McLaughlin also pointed out that there has been an increase in threats against law enforcement officials who he expects to show “remarkable restraint and professionalism in exhausting all options before any form of non-lethal force is used.”
This debate has intensified after a recent incident in Minneapoliss, when Renee Nicole Good, an American citizen, was shot and killed by an ICE agent during an enforcement action. Protests followed in several cities, with Democrats and local residents condemning the shooting and calling for criminal charges.
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The Trump administration and Republican lawmakers have defended the incident as a justified shooting.
Officials are also investigating a second ICE-involved shooting in Minneapolis on Wednesday, as the mayor continues to push for the agency to leave the city and state.
