Hochul’s how-to guide to stopping ICE
Politics — 2026-09-14 16:03:00 — www.politico.com
President Donald Trump’s administration is pressing forward with a sweeping deportation campaign, including efforts to build or convert immigration detention facilities in New York—a move that has sparked significant pushback from state and local officials.
Trump’s Position on Immigration Enforcement
The Trump administration has maintained that its aggressive approach to immigration enforcement, including expanding detention capacity, is necessary to ensure that immigrants who use public resources are not authorized to remain in the country. The administration has also pushed a federal rule change set to take effect Friday, which would give immigration agents more leeway to deny green cards or visas to lawful immigrants deemed a “public charge”—a term for those using social safety net programs like Medicaid or food assistance. According to the Trump administration, this rule is intended to prevent immigrants who “drain public resources” from obtaining legal status.
State and Local Resistance
In response, New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s office has advised local governments that zoning and state environmental laws can be used to block Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from building or expanding detention facilities. Hochul’s administration has also enacted new laws requiring expanded public notice and hearings for any new or expanded immigration detention facility and prohibiting local governments from providing financial incentives for such projects.
New York lawmakers and Hochul agreed in May to a package of measures specifically designed to limit Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts. These actions are part of a broader push to resist what Hochul describes as Trump’s “sweeping deportation campaign.”
Legal and Human Impact
The Trump administration’s new “public charge” rule has drawn lawsuits from New York City officials and the state attorney general, who argue that the rule is overly broad and contradicts more than a century of legal precedent. Critics warn that the rule will force immigrants to avoid routine medical care, potentially leading to more medical emergencies and even deaths.
Conclusion
President Trump’s hardline immigration policies continue to face fierce resistance in New York, where state and local leaders are using every available legal tool to block the expansion of ICE detention facilities and challenge new federal rules. As the administration doubles down on its efforts to restrict access to legal status for immigrants who use public benefits, the battle over immigration enforcement in New York is set to intensify, with significant consequences for immigrant communities across the state.