CANTON -- The St. Lawrence County Sheriff's Office has signed on as a plaintiff in an Article 78 proceeding to challenge state lawmakers as they banned local police agencies from cooperating with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. 

Agreements between many Sheriffs' Offices and ICE, known as a 287(g) agreement, were rendered illegal by a statewide ban in the Local Cops, Local Crime Act. 

St. Lawrence County opted into an agreement earlier this year, despite more than 250 protestors and dozens of speakers who packed the largest meeting space available in county facilities. 

After more than seven hours of public comment legislators still approved the agreement. 

Though they were aware the state could possibly take action to nullify the agreement, county lawmakers pushed forward saying it was a matter of public safety. 

At the time of the meeting, Sheriff Rick Engle clarified that the agreement was a jail enforcement model that would allow access to databases and other resources that were currently unavailable. 

With the agreement, Engle said the county could more quickly process potential illegal migrants and turn them over to ICE, clearing space in the jail that was already crowded with state-ready inmates still being held, pending transfer to state prisons. 

Last month, Engle told legislators that agreement was largely “dead in the water” with the state legislation finalized with Hochul’s signature. 

Governor Kathy Hochul signed the bill into law in May and gave local agencies a deadline to end their agreements voluntarily in August. 

“Here in New York, we need local police focused on keeping our communities safe—not serving as de-facto ICE agents, not conducting civil immigration enforcement, and not carrying out the Trump Administration’s callous immigration agenda,” Governor Hochul said. 

Hochul said she wants local police focused "on real criminals in our communities." 

"Starting today, ICE can no longer commandeer locally-funded police to aid an out-of-control federal agency with an $85 billion budget," Hochul said on Aug. 25. 

Many did but 15 holdouts have now taken legal action against the state. 

Though St. Lawrence County has signed on to the lawsuit, County Attorney Steve Button said county officials "will continue to evaluate all options in the future." 

Legislators have not taken any formal action regarding the ban on 287(g) agreements in recent meetings, however county officials said it is possible they might in the future. 

In the lawsuit, which was filed in state Supreme Court on Aug. 27, the plaintiffs claim the prohibition on agreements with ICE violates many tenants, including local authority to work with federal agencies. 

Documents cite the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which states when a valid federal law conflicts with a valid state law, the federal law takes precedence and the state law is invalidated. 

Plaintiffs also argue the ban on 287(g) agreements violates the authority of Sheriff Offices, which have a unique constitutional authority as elected offices. 

Sheriff departments are in a unique position with constitutional authority derived from the governed who elect the sheriff and undersheriff, whereas local police and State Police are hired. 

That distinction and the unique power that come with it are also at the core of the argument presented in the lawsuit. 

Though some advocates have supported the lawsuit, critics have said the case lacks legal merits and were critical of the invocation of the Supremacy Clause as that argument rests with federal authorities. 

From the federal side, lawsuits challenging the ban do mention the Supremacy Clause as well, according to court documents. 

No date has yet been set for an initial hearing in Bourgault v. Hochul.