Southold begins drafting ICE response protocols, legal questions remain

Southold Town officials began sketching out local ground rules Tuesday for responding to ICE activity on the North Fork during a hastily scheduled work session, though key legal and policy questions remain unresolved.

The meeting at the Town Hall Annex — called less than a week after a packed Town Board session where OLA of Eastern Long Island, several Public Safety Task Force members and other residents pressed officials to adopt local legislation — produced broad agreement on the need for clearer police response and communication procedures.

But the path forward remained elusive.

Police Chief Steven Grattan said the department is drafting an “outside agency” procedure governing how Southold officers respond when federal immigration authorities or other outside law enforcement agencies operate in town.

The proposed policy would apply whether police receive advance notice of an operation, encounter immigration enforcement during routine patrols or respond after members of the public report an incident.

“If it’s a situation that could become contentious or likely to have some sort of confrontation, then this procedure directs our officers to be present and to assist in peacekeeping efforts,” Mr. Grattan said.

Councilwoman Alexa Suess said a visible local police presence could help calm tense situations without interfering with federal authorities.

“I think having our officers on the scene responding is crucial,” she said. “They’re there as a calming measure. They are there to neither obstruct nor assist, but they are present.”

Much of the discussion during the hourlong meeting, which allowed no public comment, centered on how reports of ICE activity should be verified before information is shared with schools, hospitals, elected officials and the public.

Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski Jr. said the town wants to avoid repeating an incident earlier this year when an unfounded report that immigration agents were at Greenport High School spread through the community.

Federal immigration authorities notified Southold police before two of the three recent enforcement operations discussed Tuesday, Mr. Grattan said. Police learned of the third after a community member called either 911 or the department’s nonemergency line.

Town Councilwoman Anne Smith, the former superintendent of the Mattituck-Cutchogue School District, said schools already have procedures for responding when police warn of potential issues affecting arrival, dismissal or other operations.

“Of course, I’m thinking primarily about the schools right now, because it’s where the highest concentration of our community is in any school day,” she said.

Mr. Grattan outlined the department’s existing chain of command, under which verified information would move through police supervisors before reaching him. He would then notify Mr. Krupski, followed by the deputy supervisor or another police commissioner if Mr. Krupski was unavailable.

Councilwoman Kate Stevens questioned whether that process could be streamlined when schools or other institutions needed information quickly.

“The highest-ranking supervisor who has the information can relate that to the town supervisor,” Mr. Grattan replied.

Board members also discussed creating a group text or similar notification system to quickly distribute verified information to town officials and affected institutions. The details, including who would receive the alerts, remain under discussion.

The talk then turned to whether a permanent community advisory group should continue the Public Safety Task Force’s work.

Ms. Stevens suggested such a group could review the town’s response after enforcement operations and recommend improvements. Councilman Brian Mealy proposed including representatives from the Police Advisory Committee, Anti-Bias Task Force and local schools.

Ms. Smith suggested clergy, nonprofit organizations and other community partners who work with vulnerable residents.

Town Attorney Benjamin Johnson was directed to continue working with Mr. Grattan on a communication protocol covering how reported incidents are verified, how confirmed information is distributed and how the town responds when an initial report proves unfounded.

Mr. Grattan will continue refining the outside-agency procedure governing how Southold police respond when another law enforcement agency operates in town.

OLA executive director Minerva Perez has urged East End towns to adopt a local law requiring police response and communication protocols for ICE operations. The proposal would establish procedures for notifying schools, hospitals and other community institutions when enforcement activity is verified.

Ms. Perez has said the legislation is intended to improve communication and public safety, not interfere with federal immigration enforcement. The effort grew out of community concerns following the Feb. 4 immigration enforcement operation in Greenport and subsequent arrests elsewhere on the North Fork.

Rep. Nick LaLota interpreted Tuesday’s discussion as a sign Southold was moving away from legislation similar to measures adopted in East Hampton. Those laws, passed in May, establish notification procedures and direct local employees not to use town resources to assist federal civil immigration enforcement except when required by law.

“After I conditioned my support for the federal earmarks on rejecting sanctuary city policies, the tea leaves suggest Southold is poised to reject the Mamdani-Hochul sanctuary policies adopted in East Hampton,” Mr. LaLota told The Suffolk Times following the meeting. “Credit to Councilwoman Jill Doherty and former Town Attorney Stephen Kiely, who for months have made clear, compelling arguments against these weak and woke policies that restrict cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and put politics ahead of public safety. The community, our cops, and those being arrested are all safer when local, state and federal law enforcement communicate and cooperate. Public safety should come before politics.”

Rep. LaLota, who is running for reelection in November, has said he would not support discretionary Community Project Funding for municipalities that adopt policies he believes hinder lawful cooperation with federal authorities.

The Town Board did not reject OLA’s proposal Tuesday. Instead, officials directed staff to continue refining both the draft Police Department procedures and broader policy recommendations before returning to the issue at their next regularly scheduled work session Aug. 11.

“We have had this concern about federal immigration enforcement,” Mr. Krupski said. “We’ve taken this very seriously.”