Southold approves plan to have town police keep tabs on ICE

Southold Town now has a plan officials hope will mitigate fear and chaos if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents ever come back to town.

The town board voted 6-0 Tuesday to adopt a detailed response plan that includes dispatching police officers to the scene of reported ICE activity to verify operations and de-escalate potential confrontations.

Southold Police Chief Steven Grattan developed the policy, which also spells out a communication chain for local officials to notify schools and other potentially affected institutions, amid six months of debate over what role, if any, the town should have during ICE arrests.

The presence of federal immigration agents previously has sent fear rippling throughout the community, particularly after three longtime residents, immigrants who did not have violent criminal records, were arrested in February in Greenport.

Residents described a chaotic scene of agents’ vehicles speeding on quiet village streets, and a near "ghost town" in the aftermath as many were afraid to leave their homes.

Nationally, clashes between ICE and protesters have turned deadly, including in Minneapolis, where Alex Pretti and Renee Good were fatally shot by officers earlier this year.

Grattan said the policy is focused on peacekeeping efforts.

"We understand federal law enforcement officers have a job to do," he said in an interview Tuesday. "We’re certainly not going to obstruct them, but we also don’t get involved in civil immigration, so really we’re there to keep the peace."

Policy details

Town officials said having a clear local response will enhance public safety, foster trust with the police department and increase transparency.

Southold officers may be dispatched to verify outside law enforcement activity, according to the policy. Officers would remain at the scene with their body cameras on and "neither obstruct nor assist the operation, absent a judicial warrant," according to the town resolution.

Information would be relayed from the police department to the town supervisor, who would then notify other elected officials and the administrators of potentially impacted schools and hospitals for "situational awareness and preparedness," according to the policy adopted Tuesday.

The policy emphasizes that the department will continue to hold de-escalation training for its members, and it states that the chief will issue a "timely public statement containing nonsensitive details" about verified operations.

An ICE spokesman said in an email that he hopes the policy improves cooperation between that agency and local law enforcement. He defended immigration officers’ actions as lawful when they investigate immigration status and make arrests. Refusing to honor ICE’s detainer requests, he said, forces at-large arrests and increases risks to the public and law enforcement. 

Earlier pitch by OLA

In February, Southold formed a 12-person public safety task force to consider legislation proposed by OLA of Eastern Long Island, a Latino advocacy group. That bill proposal called for local police to verify federal agents’ identification, scan their vehicles and share reports publicly.

Five members of the task force urged the town to adopt OLA’s bill. They suggested the town follow East Hampton town and village, which approved versions of the bill earlier this year that explicitly banned local police from cooperating with ICE under 287(g) agreements.

Rep Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) later threatened to withhold funding from municipalities that pass such measures. In June, Southold Town Attorney Ben Johnson cautioned against enacting an official law, which he warned could be difficult to enforce and "places real dollars at stake" due to LaLota’s stance.

The board distanced itself from the original OLA proposal, instead opting for a hyperlocal policy that officials said prioritizes safety.

"We can’t do it the East Hampton way. We have to do it the safe way for Southold," Councilman Brian Mealy said at a separate meeting earlier Tuesday. "Some of these things are beyond our control, but just trying to do our part locally is essential to making sure we take care of the problem as best we can."

OLA executive director Minerva Perez, in an interview, called Southold's policy a "major step" and said the board should consider forming a task force to review and respond to future incidents.

"There should be eyes on whatever happens next and hopefully we'll never need it," Perez said. "But if we do ... the key is that you get to see this in action."