Resources Safety and your rights
What City and State laws protect and where the protection ends
What New York City and State laws forbid City and local agencies to do, and what they can't stop federal immigration agents from doing.
This is general information, not legal advice: QARAVAN has no lawyers. QARAVAN does not help anyone enter the US and cannot arrange visas, invitations, sponsorship or evacuation. For your own case, talk to a licensed immigration attorney or a representative accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice.
New York City laws that limit City help to federal immigration authorities are called sanctuary laws. They set rules for City agencies such as the NYPD and the City jail, not for ICE.
Laws change fast, and some state laws are being challenged in court. These are the rules as of November 2026; this is general information, not legal advice, and QARAVAN has no lawyers.
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- New York City laws bar City agencies from helping with immigration detention, but don't stop ICE itself from working in the city.
- The NYPD honors an ICE request to hold someone only with a judicial warrant and a conviction for a violent or serious crime, or a terrorist watchlist match.
- These laws barely limit federal agents, so if you meet ICE, act as you would anywhere: stay silent, don't open the door, sign nothing.
City and State laws in practice
| What is limited for City and local agencies | What remains possible | |
|---|---|---|
| Help with immigration enforcement | City agencies cannot spend City time, money and property on helping immigration enforcement (§ 10-178 of the New York City Administrative Code); requests for such help are recorded | The NYPD may still take part in task forces whose main aim is not immigration enforcement and cooperate in criminal investigations; the City’s Department of Investigation (DOI) examined five incidents and found one violation by an NYPD officer |
| An ICE request to hold a person (detainer) | The NYPD honors a civil request only with a judicial warrant and a conviction for a violent or serious crime or a terrorist screening match (Administrative Code § 14-154) | Under State law ICE can still send such requests to jails and can move a person to another state |
| City premises | Law enforcement from outside the city may not enter non-public areas of City property without a judicial warrant or other listed conditions (§ 4-210); City lots may not be staging grounds; no federal immigration offices on Rikers | In the street, in private homes and at workplaces these bans do not apply |
| Schools, hospitals, houses of worship and other places | Under State law a judicial warrant is needed to enter the private areas, and schools do not share student information without a judicial warrant | The Legal Aid Society cautions that the law mainly limits State and local agencies, not federal ones, and that parts of it are challenged in court |
| ICE arrests in the city | City laws do not forbid ICE itself to make arrests | According to the City's report, from January 20, 2025 to March 10, 2026 ICE arrested about 5,567 people in the New York City area, over half at the 26 Federal Plaza immigration court |
| Arrests at immigration courts | A temporary stay of May 18, 2026 bars most ICE arrests of people who attend immigration court at or near 26 Federal Plaza, 201 Varick Street and 290 Broadway | Ask a lawyer whether the ruling has been appealed, and keep a plan in case of detention |
Administrative Code § 14-154 (ICE requests to the NYPD)
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The NYPD may honor a civil ICE request to hold a person (a detainer) only with a judicial warrant and a conviction for a violent or serious crime, or a match on a terrorist screening list.
Administrative Code § 10-178 (Local Law 228 of 2017)
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City resources are not used for immigration enforcement; requests for such help are recorded. The NYPD may still take part in task forces whose main aim is not immigration enforcement and cooperate in criminal investigations.
Administrative Code § 4-210 (Local Law 246 of 2017)
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Law enforcement personnel from outside the city may not be in non-public areas of City property without a judicial warrant or other conditions listed in the law.
Local Law 63 of 2026
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Broadened the definitions of “federal immigration authorities” and “immigration enforcement” and barred federal immigration authorities from keeping offices on Rikers Island (the City jail).
Executive Order 13 (“Protecting New Yorkers from Abusive Immigration Enforcement”)
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A mayoral order of February 6, 2026. It bars using City lots as staging areas for operations by non-City law enforcement and requires six City agencies to publish rules for dealing with immigration agencies, train staff and check compliance. After the audit, in May 2026 the mayor adopted a new NYPD rule: every 911 call about federal immigration agents is reported to NYPD leadership and its Legal Bureau, and a senior patrol officer is sent to the scene.
A ban on agreements between local police and ICE (the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act)
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Local police may not make formal agreements with ICE (such as “287(g)”, under which officers act as immigration agents) or informal ones. Police can still cooperate with federal agencies in criminal cases. The governor signed the law on May 27, 2026; existing agreements had to be ended by August 25, 2026. On August 3, 2026 a federal court refused to block the ban in a suit by the US Department of Justice. On August 27 the State Attorney General sued the Rensselaer County sheriff, the only agency that had not ended its ICE agreement.
Local jails and ICE
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Local jails cannot make or keep contracts with ICE to hold people in immigration detention, and existing contracts must be phased out by late 2026. ICE can still ask a jail to hold a person (a detainer) and can move detainees to other states.
Personal information and access to government buildings
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State and local employees may not spend public money or time on immigration enforcement, in most cases may not share personal data for immigration purposes, and may not let ICE into non-public areas of government property. This applies especially to staff outside law enforcement, such as social services.
Places where people should feel safe (sensitive locations)
Any status
These include schools and colleges, hospitals and clinics, child care centers, places of worship, mental health facilities, family and social services, housing, parks, playgrounds, senior centers and polling places. According to the Legal Aid Society, ICE generally can't enter non-public areas of these places (offices, classrooms, back rooms) without a judicial warrant; an administrative one is not enough. Schools may not refuse enrollment over status, share information about students and families, or let ICE question or take a student without a judicial warrant.
The right to sue officials
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The law creates a right to sue government officials, including federal agents, for violating constitutional rights. A court can issue an order and award money damages.
Masks and identification (suspended by a court)
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Under the law, officers, federal agents included, generally may not cover their faces and must show identification. But on August 3, 2026 federal Judge Mae D’Agostino (Northern District of New York), in a suit by the US Department of Justice, barred the state from applying this to federal agents until the case is finally decided. While that order stands, ICE agents may wear masks and not show ID.
Office of Immigrant Trust
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A new unit in the State Attorney General's office that, under a 2026 law, is to keep people's trust in schools, hospitals and public institutions.
Protect Our Courts Act (New York Civil Rights Law § 28)
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A person going in good faith to a court proceeding where they, or a family or household member, are a party or possible witness may not be subjected to civil arrest on the way to court, in court or on the way back, unless a judicial warrant or court order allows it. Willful violation is contempt of court and false imprisonment; the person and the State Attorney General can sue. The State Senate website shows the version of December 18, 2020. Ask a lawyer how the law applies to arrests by federal immigration agents.
Temporary court stay on ICE arrests at immigration courts
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On May 18, 2026, in a suit by Make the Road New York, Judge P. Kevin Castel of the federal court in Manhattan (S.D.N.Y.) issued a temporary measure: while the case continues, ICE generally may not arrest people coming to immigration court in or near 26 Federal Plaza, 201 Varick Street and 290 Broadway. DHS's 2021 guidance, allowing such arrests only in very limited cases such as a serious public safety threat, applies again.
Do not count on a law to stop ICE at your door
City and state laws limit City and local agencies, not federal agents. For what to do at home, on the street, at work and if detained, see “If ICE comes to you”.
Know that fingerprints taken at arrest reach ICE
City and state laws do not stop this. If the police arrest you and take your fingerprints, they go to the FBI, and the FBI automatically sends them to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) so ICE can check whether you can be deported (this is how ICE describes its Secure Communities program). Talk to an immigration lawyer about any arrest, even a minor one.
Use City services
City laws exist so that undocumented people can report crimes, get medical care and use other essential services without fear of deportation.
Know what happens to a 911 call
Under a rule the mayor adopted in May 2026 after the Executive Order 13 audit, the NYPD reports 911 calls involving federal immigration agents to its leadership and lawyers and sends a senior officer to the scene.
Make a family plan in advance
Choose an emergency contact, memorize their number, keep documents somewhere safe and think about a guardian for your children.
Sanctuary City Laws in New York City (a booklet of the City’s immigrant affairs office)
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A short MOIA booklet on City laws, available in Russian. It says City laws set limits for City agencies but don't mean no one in New York City gets deported.
Legal Aid Society: What You Need to Know About New York State’s New Immigration Protections
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A Legal Aid Society guide to the 2026 state laws (updated August 10, 2026), available in Russian.
Department of Investigation (DOI) reports on compliance with City laws
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In 2025 DOI reviewed how the NYPD and the City jail follow these laws; the NYPD report (December 2025) examined five cases and found one violation.
- Sanctuary laws
- Laws that limit how and when City and local authorities help federal immigration enforcement.
- Detainer
- An ICE request to a jail or police to keep a person for a while longer so ICE can pick them up.
- Judicial warrant
- A paper signed by a judge that permits officers to search a place or arrest a person; an administrative warrant is signed by an immigration officer and does not give that right.
- Administrative Code
- The collection of laws of the City of New York.
- Executive Order
- An order from the Mayor that sets rules for City agencies.
- 287(g)
- The number of a section of federal law under which local police can make an agreement with ICE and do part of an immigration officer’s work.
- Department of Investigation (DOI)
- The City’s investigations department, which checks how City agencies work, including compliance with laws on helping immigration enforcement.
- Office of Immigrant Trust
- A new unit in the New York State Attorney General’s office.
- Civil arrest
- An arrest in a matter that is not a crime.
All pages: Safety and your rights
Sources, checked November 2026
- nyc.gov/site/immigrants/legal-resources/know-your-rights.page
- nyc.gov/assets/doi/reports/pdf/2025/49NYPD.SancLawsRelease.Rpt…
- nyc.gov/assets/doi/Testimony/2026/DOITestimonySanctuaryLaws.03…
- nyc.gov/content/dam/nycgov/mayors-office/downloads/pdf/press-r…
- legalaidnyc.org/get-help/immigration-deportation/what-you-need…
- nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CVR/28*2
- legalaidnyc.org