New York is not formally labeled a sanctuary state in its own laws, but through a mix of executive orders, statutes, and agency policies it sharply limits how state and local government help federal immigration enforcement. In practice, state employees generally cannot ask about your immigration status, local police will not hold you on a federal immigration detainer alone, and the DMV cannot share your records with immigration agencies. The federal government added New York to its official list of sanctuary jurisdictions in August 2025, and the question of whether these protections survive is now being fought in court.1United States Department of Justice. Justice Department Publishes List of Sanctuary Jurisdictions
What State Agencies Can Ask and Share
The central rule for state government is Executive Order No. 170, codified at 9 CRR-NY 8.170. It applies to anyone who works for a state agency or authority, and it sets three limits.2Office of the Governor of New York. Executive Order No. 170
State employees cannot ask about your immigration status unless that information is legally required to decide whether you qualify for a specific benefit or service. If you walk into a state office for healthcare, emergency assistance, or another program, the default is that no one asks where you were born or what your visa says.
State employees also cannot share immigration-related information with federal authorities for civil immigration enforcement purposes unless a law compels them to. That closes off the voluntary flow of data that can otherwise start a deportation case.
Law enforcement officers have an added restriction. They cannot ask about your immigration status unless they are investigating you for illegal activity and the question is directly relevant to that investigation. They cannot use state resources or personnel to detect or arrest someone whose only suspected offense is a civil immigration violation. The order specifically calls out that this applies when someone approaches an officer for help, or is a crime victim or witness.2Office of the Governor of New York. Executive Order No. 170
Driver’s Licenses and DMV Records
The Driver’s License Access and Privacy Act, commonly called the Green Light Law, does two things. It lets any New York resident age 16 or older apply for a standard, non-commercial driver’s license regardless of citizenship or immigration status. And it builds a privacy wall around the personal information those applicants give the DMV.3New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Driver Licenses and the Green Light Law
The license issued under the law is a standard, not-for-federal-purposes license. You cannot use it to board a domestic flight or enter a federal building, but it meets state driving requirements. The point is to get every driver tested, licensed, and insured.
The privacy protections have real teeth. The DMV is barred from sharing its records with any agency whose primary function is enforcing immigration law. Any entity that asks for DMV records must certify that the information will not be used for immigration enforcement. If a federal immigration agency does request someone’s data, the DMV must notify that person within three days and tell them which agency asked.3New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Driver Licenses and the Green Light Law
The only way around these restrictions is a judicial warrant or court order signed by a judge. An administrative request from a federal immigration official is not enough.
Local Police, Jails, and ICE Detainers
If you are arrested in New York and Immigration and Customs Enforcement wants the local jail to keep you past your scheduled release, ICE issues a detainer asking the jail to hold you up to 48 additional hours so federal agents can take custody. New York local law enforcement generally does not honor these requests, and the reasoning matters if you find yourself in custody.
A detainer is a request, not a command, and it carries no legal obligation to comply. Detainers often come with an administrative warrant, but an administrative warrant is prepared and signed by federal immigration officials, not a judge. A judicial warrant is issued by a federal judge or magistrate based on probable cause. Under both the Fourth Amendment and the New York Constitution, holding someone past their authorized release time so ICE can pick them up counts as an arrest, and that kind of arrest requires judicial authorization.4New York State Attorney General. Immigration Enforcement
The practical result: once your criminal matter is resolved, your bail is posted, or a judge orders your release, local police and sheriffs have to let you go. They will not keep you in custody on an ICE detainer alone. The exceptions are narrow: a real judicial warrant, or independent probable cause that you committed a new crime.4New York State Attorney General. Immigration Enforcement
Courthouse Arrests
The Protect Our Courts Act, codified as New York Civil Rights Law § 28, addresses a specific problem: people skipping court because they fear being arrested by immigration agents on the way in or out. The law gives a privilege from civil arrest to anyone attending a court proceeding as a party, a potential witness, or a family member of a party or witness. The privilege covers time inside the courthouse and travel to and from the proceeding.5New York State Senate. New York Civil Rights Law 28-2 – Civil Arrest; Certain Locations
The only way to override the privilege is a judicial warrant or judicial order, and the statute defines that narrowly as an order issued by a judge in the judicial branch. An administrative warrant signed by immigration officials does not qualify. ICE can still watch a courthouse, but it cannot make a civil arrest of someone covered by the privilege without going through a judge first.
The consequences for violating this law are not just symbolic. An unauthorized arrest is treated as both contempt of court and false imprisonment, and courts can issue protective orders under Judiciary Law § 4-a to block improper arrests before they happen.5New York State Senate. New York Civil Rights Law 28-2 – Civil Arrest; Certain Locations
One boundary to keep in mind. The privilege follows the person, not the building. You are protected while going to court, at court, and leaving court. If you happen to be near a courthouse without any connection to a proceeding, the statute does not cover you.
The Federal Fight and What Could Change
New York’s protections sit in direct tension with federal law. The main federal statute is 8 U.S.C. § 1373, which prohibits any state or local government from restricting its officials from sending immigration status information to, or receiving it from, federal immigration authorities.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1373 A companion statute, 8 U.S.C. § 1644, reinforces the same rule for state and local entities generally.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1644
New York’s position is that its rules restrict state employees from volunteering information for immigration enforcement but do not technically prohibit the exchange of immigration status data when the law requires it. Executive Order No. 170 itself carves out that nothing in it restricts sending or receiving information “as required by law.” The federal government reads the statutes differently, and the dispute is now in court.
On April 28, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14287, directing the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security to identify jurisdictions with policies that impede federal immigration enforcement. On August 5, 2025, the Justice Department published its first list of sanctuary jurisdictions, naming New York State, New York City, and Rochester.1United States Department of Justice. Justice Department Publishes List of Sanctuary Jurisdictions The Justice Department has also filed litigation against New York jurisdictions to try to force compliance.
The practical stakes are federal grant money, especially law enforcement grants. How much is actually at risk depends on how courts decide whether the federal government can condition grants on immigration cooperation or whether doing so is unconstitutional coercion. Earlier rounds of this fight during the first Trump administration produced mixed rulings, and the current litigation is unresolved. For now, New York’s sanctuary protections remain in effect.