Overview

• Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons sent Sept. 10 letters ordering the three attorneys general to say within two days whether they would honor thousands of detainers, followed by Sept. 18 warnings pledging to involve the Justice Department.
• According to DHS, New York and Illinois formally declined to cooperate with the detainers, while California did not respond to the initial demand.
• Senior DHS officials told CBS News the department will ask the Justice Department to sue the states and to seek restrictions on future federal funding, signaling the next phase of the dispute.
• Detainers are administrative requests for notification and up to 48-hour holds so ICE can take custody, which federal courts have generally treated as nonbinding and constitutionally sensitive without a judge’s warrant.
• State laws limit cooperation: California largely prohibits honoring detainers except for certain serious convictions, New York requires judicial warrants, and Illinois’ TRUST Act bars detention without a warrant; DHS cites public-safety risks and reports roughly 400,000 arrests since January with 70% involving charges or convictions.