A new legal guide is pushing New York City’s immigration battle directly onto individual police officers.
America First Legal, a conservative nonprofit, has released a 35-page “Law Enforcement Officer Immigration Cooperation Guide” telling state and local officers they may communicate directly with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, even when local sanctuary policies restrict that cooperation. The group is also offering confidential consultations to public employees who say they faced discipline for working with federal immigration authorities.
The guide arrives at a volatile moment. Mayor Zohran Mamdani has reinforced New York City’s sanctuary framework, while White House border czar Tom Homan says a larger ICE operation is headed for the five boroughs. Together, those moves are setting up a test of where federal immigration authority ends and local control of police departments begins.
The legal group points to one federal statute
America First Legal’s central argument rests on Section 1373 of Title 8 of the U.S. Code. The statute says federal, state and local governments may not prohibit or restrict officials from sending or receiving information about a person’s citizenship or immigration status…