An ICE “detainer” (Form I‑247) is a DHS/ICE request to a jail or police agency to: (1) notify ICE before releasing a person identified as removable and (2) maintain custody for up to 48 hours (excluding weekends/holidays) so ICE can assume custody. It is an administrative request—not a judicial arrest warrant—and agencies are not legally required by federal regulation to honor it; courts have also said holding people solely on detainers can raise Fourth Amendment problems if there is no independent probable cause.
A mayor can direct city agencies and local law enforcement policy (e.g., order non‑cooperation with ICE detainers) for municipal operations, but cannot repeal federal immigration law. Federal regulation treats detainers as requests (8 C.F.R. §287.7) and courts have upheld that jurisdictions may decline to honor them; however, state laws or court orders can limit or compel cooperation in some circumstances. Local refusal can expose the city to political or state‑law challenges but is generally within municipal authority to set policing policy.
If a local agency won’t honor a detainer, ICE may (a) attempt to arrest the person later in the community (ICE says at‑large arrests may be less safe), (b) use an ICE administrative warrant (Forms I‑200/I‑205) or other enforcement means, or (c) if ICE does not assume custody within the 48‑hour window the jail must release the person. In practice DHS/ICE may also increase outreach to local partners or pursue arrests through its own officers.
Tricia McLaughlin is an Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; she is a senior DHS official who appears in DHS press statements and public correspondence on enforcement and Border/Immigration matters (DHS news releases list her among senior leadership and signatories).
Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposal referenced in the DHS release would restrict or bar local police departments from partnering with ICE (limiting local cooperation, including honoring ICE detainers); the governor announced a legislative proposal to curtail local‑level ICE collaboration. Specific bill text or status should be checked in New York state legislative sources for details.
ICE/DHS publishes counts of individuals with active detainers from agency internal records (detainer/I‑247 issuances and enforcement databases) and uses booking/arrest records to match alleged offense categories; public DHS/ICE data releases and press statements summarize those internal tallies but do not publish full underlying case files. Verification by independent parties typically requires FOIA requests or state/local jail records.
Yes. Courts and federal policy limit how detainers may be used: federal regulation (8 C.F.R. §287.7) treats detainers as requests, not warrants; federal courts (e.g., Miranda‑Olivares v. Clackamas County and Galarza v. Szalczyk) have held that holding someone solely on an ICE detainer can violate the Fourth Amendment when there is no independent probable cause, and have exposed jurisdictions to liability for honoring detainers without adequate legal basis.