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Schenck told Ë®¹ûÅÉAV the sheriff's office will detain individuals who are in the country illegally if there is probable cause they have committed a criminal immigration offense, such as reentering the U.S. after being deported. In those cases, the undocumented immigrants will be held and transferred to federal officials. 

If someone is being held on state criminal charges and the sheriff's office receives a federal warrant signed by a federal judge for a crime or criminal immigration violation, Schenck said they will hold the individual and transfer them to federal authorities when their state charges are resolved. 

However, under New York law, there are limits on local law enforcement involvement in immigration matters. The state Court of Appeals, New York's highest court, has ruled that local law enforcement agencies cannot enforce civil immigration offenses, which include entering the U.S. illegally or overstaying a visa. 

For civil immigration offenses, federal agencies, such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, have jurisdiction. 

"Absent a criminal immigration offense, or additional conduct that constitutes a crime, we cannot legally arrest and or detain an individual solely because of the civil violation," Schenck said. "We can and will assist federal officials that do have legal authority in this enforcement, however, without them present, we do not have legal jurisdiction." 

Schenck highlighted two recent criminal cases involving migrants who were in the country illegally. In May, a man from Mexico who was living in Auburn was arrested for allegedly having sex acts with a child under age 11. A sting in August nabbed an undocumented immigrant for allegedly attempting to have sex with an underage girl. 

In another high-profile case, a man from Guatemala who had reentered the U.S. after being deported was convicted of driving drunk and killing a Weedsport man in 2019. 

"Public safety and the protection of the constitutional rights of all that we serve and encounter is a top priority," Schenck said. "We will continue to assist our federal partners to the fullest extent that is legally possible as it is in the best interest of our public safety."

He continued, "Our open border policy that has existed in recent years has allowed thousands of individuals to cross our borders into the U.S. unvetted and unknown. Our top priority relative to this issue must be to identify and take into custody those that have committed criminal offenses, both at the state and federal level, or pose a risk of public safety to our citizens and remove them from our country. We will assist our federal partners in any way that we can to do that." 

Schenck answered questions about his agency's approach after the Department of Justice criticized the Tompkins County Sheriff's Office for releasing an undocumented immigrant who was in jail on assault charges. Federal authorities were critical, in part, because Ithaca is a sanctuary city. 

Although the individual was released from local custody, federal agents detained him the next day. 

There has been increased immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump, who took office Jan. 20. ICE raids have been reported across the country, including upstate New York.