When the new council passed a resolution saying Troy would not cooperate with ICE enforcement, Carmella declined to take a position. Her statement: the resolution “does not change or impact any city code, local law, or operational policy. It is solely a statement of the Council’s political views.” She neither signed it nor vetoed it.
Six months earlier, she had promised the opposite.
What Was Already Happening
ICE enforcement in Troy did not begin in 2026. By September 2025, the Capital Region Sanctuary Coalition had documented 36 detainments in Troy since February, two more in East Greenbush, and one green card deportation.
Verónica Amador’s husband José was detained on August 13, 2025. She drove five hours to find him after he was transferred. “We haven’t been able to find out and speak,” she said. “Where’s he at?”
On September 5, 2025, residents, labor leaders, and community groups gathered outside Troy City Hall. Angela Baylor of the Troy Capital Region Sanctuary Coalition said: “It disturbs me to no end that community members less than a mile from my home are being picked up.” Council President Steele called it “a human rights issue. It’s a matter of justice. It’s a matter of following our Constitution.” She pledged to reintroduce anti-ICE legislation.
Carmella and Police Chief DeWolf responded with a joint statement: the city would “fully cooperate with any federal law enforcement agencies to maintain public safety and to uphold the law.”
That was September 2025. When the new Democratic council passed its resolution in early 2026, that cooperation pledge became “solely a statement of the Council’s political views.”
What the Old Council Did
The new council’s action was not the first attempt. On September 18, 2025, the Republican-majority council voted down Resolution 98, a human rights and due process resolution introduced in response to ICE activity in Troy. It failed 3-4, with the three Democratic members voting yes and the four Republicans voting no.
Among those who came to speak against Resolution 98 was Sara McDermott, then serving as Legislative Aide to the Republican-majority council. She went through the resolution’s findings one by one, called ICE operations “intelligence-driven and focused on criminal aliens and immigration fugitives,” and closed: “Let’s stop the political fear and get back to focusing on Troy.”
The resolution failed. In 2026, Carmella created a new city position for McDermott, Deputy Director of Operations, at $80,000 per year.
The County
Rensselaer County was the first county in New York State to sign a 287(g) agreement with ICE, doing so in 2018 under then-Sheriff Patrick Russo. By February 2026, 12 to 14 law enforcement agencies across nine New York counties had 287(g) agreements. New York State has 528 law enforcement agencies across 62 counties.
County Executive McLaughlin and Sheriff Bourgault announced they would sue Governor Hochul after she signed the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act to void these agreements statewide.
Carmella said nothing about the county’s program or the legal fight next door. When asked about the Troy Police Department’s position, Chief Barker directed inquiries to the mayor’s office. Communications Director Alex Horton said TPD “work on criminal matters only, not civil immigration matters.”
Partisan angle: Carmella’s silence in 2026 was a choice, not a default. In September 2025, she made that choice explicitly: full cooperation with federal law enforcement. When the new Democratic council passed a resolution pushing the other direction, she dismissed it as politics. The county next door had been running the first 287(g) program in New York for eight years, was fighting the governor in court to keep it, and she had nothing to say about that either.
Sources: CBS6, Troy rejects ICE cooperation; WAMC, September 8, 2025; CBS6, September 5, 2025; Spectrum News, September 5, 2025; Spectrum News, NY counties 287(g) breakdown, February 2026; News10, Rensselaer County pushes back on new law; Troy City Council Finance Meeting, September 18, 2025 (transcript)