Southold Town aims for ICE response bill in the next two weeks

Southold Town is aiming to formalize policies for responding to and communicating about federal immigration enforcement activity in two weeks.

The town board met Tuesday for continued discussion on what role the town should play to keep residents safe and informed if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are conducting arrests in the area.

Under the proposed policy, Southold officers would respond to reports of outside law enforcement activity for verification.

The policy will also spell out a notification chain for relaying that information from high-ranking police officials to town and village leaders, other institutions and the public. It may also include a news release or public statement from the police department.

Following reported events, the town board — which also acts as police commissioners — would debrief about the incident and may form a task force to review the responses.

“What we're trying to do with this is have an impact not just through protocols and oversight, but also through communication to improve our public safety,” Councilwoman Kate Stevens said on Tuesday.

Board members focused Tuesday on refining the policy and whether to communicate about unverified reports of outside law enforcement. Town Police Chief Steve Grattan cautioned against such alerts.

On Sunday, for example, word spread after the Department of Homeland Security was spotted in Greenport, Grattan said. He said the agency was conducting a port operation with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office and both Southold Supervisor Al Krupski Jr. and Greenport Village Mayor Kevin Stuessi were notified.

“They’re not out there for immigration purposes, they’re walking around and looking at foreign-flagged vessels,” he said Tuesday, adding that a mass notification to the public could “potentially jeopardize their safety.”

The board agreed to focus on verified immigration actions, but must still work out key details including what a proposed response would look like.

“I want the public to have clear expectations of what they’re going to get from us,” Councilwoman Jill Doherty said at Tuesday’s meeting.

Councilwoman Anne Smith said the board should draft a “very clear and detailed” resolution outlining the policy, which could be ready for a vote as soon as the next meeting on Aug. 25.

“Those couple of things could get us quite a distance in being prepared,” Smith said.

Southold’s policy was drafted amid calls for the town to adopt a measure developed by OLA of Eastern Long Island, a Latino advocacy group. East Hampton Town and village approved versions of that bill that block their police departments from cooperating with federal authorities on immigration enforcement.

In response, Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) threatened to withhold discretionary spending in towns and villages that bar cooperation with federal law enforcement. Southold Town Attorney Ben Johnson cited LaLota’s position in a June letter, writing that it “places real dollars at stake.”

Councilwoman Alexa Suess said OLA’s proposal was a “springboard” for more discussions, but the town is instead focusing on how to best serve its residents as fear has heightened following February ICE arrests in Greenport.

There have been eight immigration arrests in the Town of Southold between July 26 of last year and Feb. 5, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement data.

LaLota said Southold’s "commitment to safeguarding perimeters during federal law enforcement operations are prudent measures that significantly reduce the likelihood of a Good- or Pretti-like incident,” LaLota said in a statement Tuesday. He was referencing Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good, both U.S. citizens who were killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis earlier this year.