Southold police consider responding to ICE actions as a safety measure

As calls intensify for Southold Town to adopt guidelines for responding to immigration raids, its police department is weighing a new policy to deploy officers to reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions to keep residents safe.

Police Chief Steven Grattan said the policy is still a draft and stemmed from discussions with the town’s public safety task force, a 12-member group formed in February to review legislation proposed by OLA of Eastern Long Island, a Latino advocacy group.

Under the policy, Southold officers would respond if alerted to immigration operations, Grattan said during a packed town board meeting on the topic Wednesday. But he cautioned that outside law enforcement agencies don’t always alert the town to their presence.

“We take public safety very seriously, and these can be very contentious exchanges as we’ve all seen across this country,” he said. “Having members of law enforcement there for peacekeeping efforts is important to us.”

The chief said the internal policy could be implemented separately from official town board legislation.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Southold officials met with residents, first responders and advocates who overwhelmingly urged the board to adopt the legislation amid heightened immigration enforcement across the East End.

Five members of the public safety task force made specific recommendations for the town to consider, including reporting verified immigration actions to the town supervisor and village mayor, and circulating informational tools to help residents distinguish Southold police from ICE officers.

The group also recommended coordination with local schools and hospitals if ICE attempts to enter those properties, more de-escalation training for police and limiting ICE access to town facilities and license plate readers. 

Supporters of the legislation said it would improve transparency, strengthen public safety and reassure immigrant communities, while opponents argued it would hinder federal law enforcement efforts and jeopardize discretionary federal funding.

Effects of Greenport raid

Southold’s task force began meeting in the wake of a Feb. 4 immigration raid in Greenport. Three longtime residents with no criminal records were arrested, and a quarter of Greenport schoolchildren stayed home due to fear, Newsday previously reported.

Task force member Magda Rodriguez said the arrests had far-reaching effects, describing an “economic and social ghost town” that left Main Street businesses and churches vacant as families withdrew out of fear.

Rodriguez, 22, who teaches at an elementary school in New Suffolk, said roughly 60% of her students are Latino.

“On the winter morning ICE swept through Southold and Greenport, not a single one of my students showed up to class,” she said.

Two speakers cautioned the town against adopting formal guidelines, which they said could leave the town vulnerable to lawsuits and pose other issues.

Glenn McCarty, of Southold, said that while the proposed legislation has merits, it could leave the town vulnerable to litigation. “The proposal is not needed as a local law and creates risks that outweigh the incremental benefits,” he said. Instead, McCarty said, the town should “keep the useful ideas” as guidance rather than codify new rules.

Others countered that many detained during local immigration sweeps, such as those arrested in Greenport in February, were not dangerous criminals.

Action and risk in East Hampton

East Hampton Town and village have passed versions of OLA’s legislation that limit their police officers from cooperating with ICE. State laws signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul that took effect in June also limit such agreements and prohibit law enforcement at the local, state and federal levels from concealing their faces while performing their duties. 

But the East Hampton municipalities could risk losing federal earmarks after Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) warned he would not support funding requests in towns and villages that restrict cooperation with federal immigration officials.

Earlier this month, LaLota visited the North Fork, presenting giant checks for local projects, including $1 million for police cars and equipment in Southold. 

"Like the leaders of 108 of Long Island's 110 towns and villages, I understand that enforcing federal immigration laws is safest for the community, law enforcement officers, and those being arrested when every level of law enforcement works together," LaLota said Wednesday in a statement. He encouraged Southold's leaders to reject proposed legislation restricting cooperation, "and I will continue fighting for their earmarks if they do."

In a June 24 memo to the task force, Southold Town Attorney Ben Johnson said LaLota's threat should be considered. “The Congressman’s position places real dollars at stake — and a codified local law, being a more identifiable official action than an internal Department practice, may heighten that exposure,” he wrote.

Minerva Perez, the executive director of OLA, defended the group's proposal as a way to clarify the town’s role during ICE actions and minimize panic and misinformation. She said the town shouldn’t bow to LaLota’s warning.

“The soul of Southold should not be for sale or portrayed against baseless threats made during an election,” Perez said Wednesday.

The town board didn't take action Wednesday and is planning to discuss the feedback and proposed law at a work session Aug. 11.

Supervisor Al Krupski said the task force was a “jumping off” point. “It was a way to start this conversation,” he said Wednesday.