State lawmakers have introduced new legislation that would allow New Yorkers to sue federal immigration agents over violations of constitutional rights in state court. If passed, New York would join a handful of other states that have passed similar, but as of yet largely untested, laws creating a private right to action against federal officials.

State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assembly Member Micah Lasher have proposed what is known as a “converse-1983” statute in New York. The term refers to section 1983 of the United States Code , which permits people to sue state and local officials for violating one’s constitutional rights (and is also the origin of qualified immunity). There is no similar law at the federal level for federal officials, and federal court rulings have severely

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