By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
LITTLE VALLEY — A group of local residents had questions Wednesday for Cattaraugus County lawmakers over an agreement between the Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Four individuals spoke with members of the County Legislature’s County Operations and Public Safety Committee about their concerns over a 287(g) agreement the Sheriff’s Office has with ICE.
The 287(g) agreement or memo of understanding, authorizes local police to identify, arrest and initiate removal proceedings against foreign-born individuals.
Besides the Sheriff’s Office, the Allegany Village Police Department is the only other law enforcement agency in the county to have a 287(g) agreement with ICE.
Kathy McGoldrick of Ellicottville, the first of the group to speak, questioned the costs to county taxpayers of the Sheriff’s Office teaming up with ICE.
If the county were sued in court in relation to ICE enforcement, a lawsuit could be very expensive if the federal government did not pay for the defense of members of the Sheriff’s Office detailed to ICE, McGoldrick said.
The ICE agreement states “any of the participating officers named as defendants in litigation related to ice responsibility may request U.S. Department of Justice representation, but it is not an entitlement,” McGoldrick said.
Kelly Grabowski of East Otto questioned the agreement’s impact on public safety and community trust, and cited a rise in deportations in the county from 2024 to 2025.
Grabowski also sought assurance that the 287(g) agreement will protect civil rights and avoid creating an atmosphere of fear. “We are concerned that formal participation in this federal immigration enforcement could unintentionally create fear, particularly among immigrant minority residents,” she told the committee.
Glenn Wahl of the town of Coldspring said that among his concerns were that ICE could impact the trust and reputation the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Department has built up over the years. He cited ICE’s history of violating constitutional rights, using excessive force, and terrorizing communities as a reason of concern.
“We don’t need ICE,” said the last speaker, Jill St. Ledger-Roty of Ellicottville, who criticized ICE’s reputation for lawlessness and excessive force and cited examples of unlawful actions and constitutional violations.
“It’s time to stop lying to ourselves,” said St. Ledger-Roty, an attorney. “The vast majority of undocumented people in this country are not rapists and murderers.”
A longtime defense attorney, she said she has always been impressed with the caliber of members of the Sheriff’s Department from the road patrol to the jail.
However, she said, “ICE’s reputation is categorized by lawlessness. They are not targeting criminals going door to door, breaking people from vehicles, smashing windshields, abducting children and detaining people at work, students who have green cards, and even U.S, citizens.”
St. Ledger-Roty told the committee: “We all know we can be judged by the company we keep. Is this what we really want? Is this really the reputation we want for our county?”
She distributed detailed concerns from the group to members of the committee to look over later.
Cattaraugus is among eight New York counties with 287(g) agreements with ICE. The others include: Nassau, Niagara, Rensselaer, Cattaraugus, Madison, Otsego, Steuben and Broome counties.
Cattaraugus County Sheriff Eric Butler said on Feb. 3 that the Sheriff’s Office had entered into an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement about three months ago. It provides training to support limited ICE enforcement.
The sheriff was critical then of a law Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed Local Cops, Local Crimes Act that was designed to prohibit state and local police from working with ICE for civil arrests. He said, “It’s political” and “it will make it more dangerous for all police officers.”
The sheriff said last month that the Sheriff’s Office will continue to work with federal agencies. The governor’s “eliminating these agreements won’t affect us from working collaboratively” with federal officials. “It won’t change.”
