When U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Neftali Caal-Chocoj in October 2023, the agency complained that Putnam County had released the undocumented Guatemalan because of "local laws," rather than allow ICE officers to take custody at the county jail.

In fact, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office notifies ICE when detainees sought by the agency are scheduled for release but will not hold them longer unless a federal judge signs a warrant, said Capt. Michael Grossi, speaking for the sheriff. He said that had been county policy for at least 10 years, and under two previous sheriffs.

The county practice largely tracks with guidance issued Jan. 22 by the state Attorney General's Office in response to President Donald Trump's vow to arrest and deport millions of undocumented immigrants.

Attorney General Letitia James released her guidance a day after Emil Bove, the acting deputy attorney general in Washington, D.C., asserted in a memo to Justice Department staff that federal law prohibits state and local governments "from resisting, obstructing and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands."

Bove warned that the Justice Department would investigate "incidents involving any such misconduct for potential prosecution, including for obstructing federal functions," and "identify state and local laws, policies, and activities that are inconsistent" with Trump's immigration initiatives and "take legal action" against those laws.

According to James, county jails are not legally obligated to notify ICE that a prisoner will be released from custody or to honor its requests, known as "detainers," to hold inmates for 48 hours beyond their scheduled release. Detainer requests are often accompanied by an administrative warrant issued by immigration authorities to arrest an undocumented immigrant for deportation, but James recommended that local officers only honor detainers when authorities have a warrant signed by a federal judge.

"We have laws that protect immigrants and limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement efforts," she wrote in her guidance. "Those laws should continue to be followed by all New York law enforcement and officials."

How Many Undocumented?

An estimated 850,000 undocumented immigrants - meaning they do not have work permits or green cards - live in New York state, mostly in New York City, according to the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. How many live in the Highlands is not known, but if immigration court data is indicative, the numbers have risen dramatically over the past 20 years. As of August, there were nearly 400 new immigration cases involving Putnam County residents, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University (TRAC). In 2004, there were 34 cases filed during the entire year.

The numbers for Dutchess are similar. As of August, there were 779 immigration cases. In 2004, there were 33. About 75 percent of those cases involve immigrants from Central and South America, according to TRAC.

According to the Center for Immigration Studies, which describes itself as a "pro-immigrant, low-immigration" think tank, Dutchess is among the New York counties that do not notify ICE before a detainee's release or allow "adequate hold time" for ICE to arrest someone.

The Dutchess County Sheriff's Office did not respond to an email asking to clarify its position on detainer requests, but Capt. John Watterson, a representative, said on Jan. 7 that "immigration laws fall under the jurisdiction of federal authorities, and at this time we are not aware of any plans to have the Sheriff's Office become involved in their enforcement."

New York law also bars local and state law enforcement from detaining people for civil immigration violations, according to the Attorney General's Office. People can only be arrested for violating civil immigration laws when police "have probable cause to believe that an individual has committed a ...