Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman posted on social media saying Nassau County police would cooperate with organizations like Customs and Border Patrol ICE and the FBI to deport individuals.
“We are battling organized crime from places like Chile and Venezuela. Its unsafe [sic],” Blakeman posted on social media. “The Nassau County Police Department will fully partner with Customs and Border Patrol, ICE, the FBI, and anybody else who wants to make sure they are returned to the countries they came from. Nassau is not a sanctuary county and never will be as long as I’m in charge.”
Residents expressed concerns that this could potentially be a use of the citizen sheriff group he founded, which has been coined “Blakeman’s militia” by residents who oppose it.
“Residents across Nassau are deeply concerned about the prospect of County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s militia being used to round up their immigrant neighbors in connection with President-Elect Trump’s mass deportation operation,” the resident watchdog group Nassau Residents for Good Government wrote in a statement. “This raises the specter of Blakeman activating his secretive, inadequately trained militia. Although Blakeman said he would activate his militia only for emergencies, residents’ concerns were exacerbated when Trump announced that he would declare an emergency on Day One to carry out mass deportations.”
The county executive’s office declined to comment.
On March 17, the county had an ad published in Newsday calling for special deputy sheriff applicants “for the protection of human life and property during an emergency.” Specifically being sought were individuals with law enforcement or military backgrounds.
The resident group cited an example in which a 79-year-old Baldwin resident sued and won against the county’s Police Department for police misconduct. This federal court awarded the resident $2.36 million, the group said.
The group also pointed to a similar case in Suffolk County.
“These multimillion-dollar payouts involve highly trained police officers,” the group said. “Blakeman’s militia involves gun-toting Nassau residents who may have little understanding or regard for due process and terrorize immigrants during round-ups, exposing the county to lawsuits on top of the county’s exposure from potential accidents or inappropriate behavior from these inadequately trained deputies.”
The resident watchdog group asked the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, which oversees the county’s finances, to reject the county’s 2025 budget and ensure funds are allocated for expenses they are liable to pay.
The group said they have requested the financial information pertaining to the resident sheriff deputy cohort but that no information has been returned to them. No information regarding this has been made public.
“The county comptroller, inspector general, and the GOP-controlled county Legislature have repeatedly failed to conduct the audits and oversight required by their positions,” the resident group wrote. “This has allowed Blakeman to avoid public scrutiny of his militia. But now, with the very real possibility that Blakeman could activate his militia for Trump’s ‘emergency’ deportations, not only must NIFA address the structural imbalance issues and other deficiencies when it opines on Blakeman’s budget tomorrow, NIFA must now protect against the county going bankrupt from legal costs connected to Blakeman’s imprudent decision to create a dangerous militia.”
