SLC Lawmakers Approve Partnership Between Sheriff’s Office and ICE 

On Monday, Feb. 2, the St. Lawrence County Board of Legislators approved a deal that allows the county sheriff’s department to partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The partnership will involve sheriff deputies training with ICE in the county jail. According to WWNY-TV, “the 287(g) agreement authorizes training for jail staff on federal software that flags inmates wanted by federal authorities.” SLC Sheriff Rick Engle said that the partnership has been under consideration for four to six months. Eight other New York counties and three municipalities have agreed to 287(g). 

During Monday evening’s board meeting, legislators amended the initial proposal to limit the partnership to the county jail and not extend it to broader county involvement. 

The lawmakers also added a provision requiring a review of the program in one year. 

Before the meeting, more than 200 people from across the county protested the 287(g) agreement outside the SLC Courthouse. Ginger Storey-Welch is the leader of North Country Neighbors for Civic Engagement, a grassroots volunteer organization that helped organize the protest. She also serves as the vice chair of the St. Lawrence County Democratic Committee. “This is a democratic process. Citizens are gathering with the right to assemble, the right to free speech, and we are appealing to our elected officials to vote no on this. We hope that they will see us,” she said. 

Stephen Austin ’28, president of SLU Democrats, participated in the protest and made a public comment during the meeting. He said his message to ICE was clear: “They can’t come here, they’re not welcome here. We’re out here to tell them they’re not welcome.” Alongside Austin and Ferguson, several SLU students and faculty members, both current and retired, attended the protest and made comments during the meeting.

During the meeting, public comments from about 80 county citizens lasted around three and a half hours. Alex Ferguson ’26, vice president of the St. Lawrence University Democrats, was among the many North Country students who spoke. “ICE does not have our best interests at heart. My classmates, teammates, co-workers, mentors and friends; these people who contribute so much to our community; they should not have to live in fear of being grabbed on the street or dragged out of their cars,” he said during his speech. “It doesn’t matter if they are citizens or have legal status; ICE has demonstrated time and time again that they will arrest anyone who looks a certain way in order to meet an arbitrary quota.”

During the comments, three speakers spoke in favor of ICE’s involvement with the sheriff’s department. 

The agreement passed with an 11-4 vote from SLC lawmakers after nearly an hour of discussion.

The 287(g) agreement and protests come amid national tensions surrounding ICE. In January, Renée Good and Alex Pretti were shot and killed by ICE officers in Minneapolis. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has called for the resignation of Kristi Noem, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, who oversees ICE. Hochul also said that she plans to propose a state law designed to prohibit partnerships between ICE and local law enforcement, which could terminate the agreement with SLC.