Letter to the Editor Regarding Oswego County Sheriff’s Department’s Ongoing Pattern Of Collusion With ICE

by Contributor | May 11, 2026 12:07 pm

It was, unfortunately, not surprising to read the recent reporting in New York Focus, later reprinted in the Palladium-Times, detailing the Oswego County Sheriff’s Department’s ongoing pattern of collusion with ICE and Border Patrol. This latest revelation does more than confirm what many community members have raised alarms about. It exposes, in stark detail, the arresting officer’s overt bias and the deeply inappropriate, unprofessional language he used while carrying out his duties.

From the very beginning, residents have repeatedly urged the Oswego County Legislature to adopt a NoCollusion Resolutionto prevent Sheriff Don Hilton’s department from engaging in unlawful or extrajudicial cooperation with federal immigration agencies. Yet these requests have been consistently dismissed by the Sheriff as well as the majority of Republican legislators, who refuse even to acknowledge the mounting evidence.

Some legislators have claimed, incorrectly, that such a resolution would somehow prevent the Sheriff’s Office from “doing its job.” The facts say otherwise. Nothing in state law, federal law, or the proposed resolution would stop ICE, Border Patrol, or the Sheriff’s Office from performing legal duties. What it would do is prevent them from engaging in actions that violate the law, exceed their authority, or infringe on the rights of residents who have done nothing wrong and are entitled to equal protection under the law.

The truth is simple: these agencies have repeatedly demonstrated that they cannot be relied upon to police themselves. Their actions have too often crossed legal and ethical boundaries, harming individuals who are following the law and who should never have been targeted in the first place.

The question now is unavoidable: What will it take for our county leadership to act? How many more unlawful detentions, rights violations, or documented abuses must occur before the Legislature acknowledges its responsibility to protect the people it serves?

 

Oswego County deserves transparency, accountability, and a Sheriff’s Office that upholds the law rather than bending it. The time for excuses has long passed. The Legislature must finally adopt a NoCollusion Resolution and ensure that these troubling actions come to an end.

Debbie Chambers, Fulton NY

Source URL: https://oswegocountytoday.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/letter-to-the-editor-regarding-oswego-county-sheriffs-departments-ongoing-pattern-of-collusion-with-ice/

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