Nassau Police Won't Hold Immigrants For ICE If They're Due To Be Released

Nassau County Police will no longer hold immigrants in custody beyond their scheduled releases in order to turn them over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to a new directive. The previous policy empowered county police to hold immigrants for ICE for 48 hours past their release dates. Now, only a warrant signed by a judge will compel officers to cooperate with ICE. The new policy was quietly revealed last week just before oral arguments were scheduled in a lawsuit filed on behalf of immigrants in Nassau. Attorney Alexander T. Holtzman, director of the Deportation Defense Clinic at Hofstra Law School, said the previous policy violated the law because being an immigrant without legal status is not a basis for arrest under state law. This change puts Nassau more in line with New York City and Suffolk. A spokeswoman for County Executive Laura Curran said she supports the new policy.