ICE deputizing 10 Nassau County detectives to assist in immigration enforcement​on February 5, 2025 at 10:56 pm

NASSAU COUNTY, Long Island (WABC) — Immigration officers are deputizing 10 local police detectives in Nassau County to help in their effort to conduct the Trump administration’s mass deportations of undocumented migrants.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman made the announcement on Tuesday morning.

Under what he calls a “first program of its kind,” Nassau County police will “cross-designate” 10 detectives to embed with ICE for targeted enforcement operations.

ICE already has the authority to coordinate with certain police departments around the country under a program called 287 (g) which allows participating local/state law enforcement to notify ICE when an undocumented immigrant has been arrested.

Under the agreement announced Tuesday, Nassau County police will make jail cells available for ICE to detain individuals, as well as notify them when undocumented immigrants are arrested for other crimes, but it also seems to go further in that the cross-designated detectives will actively help ICE arrest some people out in the community.

Blakeman and Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder faced repeated questions from the press about whether or not undocumented immigrants who have not committed crimes would be targeted.

Commissioner Ryder acknowledged that detectives will have the power to question anyone on the street about their immigration status if “they’re working on behalf of ICE” on that day.

“I wouldn’t characterize it as just violent criminals, if you are a criminal and you are here illegally, then of course the program will take effect and we will action,” Blakeman said.

Blakeman cited several cases involving undocumented migrants who were known to law enforcement at the time of the alleged crime, including a Jewish hate crime last February and the rape of a 5-year-old girl in November.

“By providing 72-hour bed space, Nassau County will enable ICE to house and transfer of potentially dangerous alien offenders,” said ICE Acting Deputy Field Office Director Brian Flanagan.

Immigration activists are slamming the announcement.

“This is not about safety, security. This is about cruelty and creating chaos and panic across our country,” said CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition Murad Awawdeh. “You know, it’s incredibly unfortunate to see County Executive Blakeman cozy up to Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan, which is going to separate families, harm our communities and our local economies. Long Island is home to about a third of the workforce is immigrants, and about a third of the small businesses are owned by immigrants. And this is a direct attack.”

Nassau County will receive federal funding for the cost of the use of the detectives.

In response, the New York Civil Liberties Union called the plan “a dangerous decision.”

“Most New York counties do not partner with ICE for a reason: when local law enforcement act like ICE agents, they take on ICE’s reputation and sow deep distrust within the community. Immigrants become scared to speak to local police and under-report crimes due to fear of deportation – making it harder for officers to do their jobs and making everyone less safe,” the organization wrote in a statement.

WATCH | Immigration Crackdown: Facts & Fears

In this special edition of Eyewitness News, we break down the issue of immigration under the Trump administration, and its impact.

(ABC News contributed to this report.)

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