Southold moves up debate over police response to ICE operations

Southold officials will wrestle Tuesday with whether a draft police procedure is enough—or whether local rules for responding to federal immigration operations must be written into law.

The Town Board moved the sharply divided debate up by a week, calling a special work session only six days after a packed July 29 meeting.

At that session, five members of Southold’s Public Safety Task Force pressed the board to adopt legislation proposed by OLA of Eastern Long Island. Police Chief Steven Grattan disclosed that his department was drafting a separate procedure, while critics argued that a local law could interfere with federal operations and expose the town to legal challenges.

The board took no action, leaving Southold with two possible paths and no consensus.

Neither side disputes the federal government’s authority to enforce immigration law. The fight is over whether Southold should rely on an internal police procedure or enact reporting and other requirements that carry the force of law.

The board had planned to return to the issue during its Aug. 11 work session, but Supervisor Al Krupski Jr. said the regular agenda would not leave enough room for the discussion.

“The problem is, it really needed its own time and our work sessions are really busy,” he said. “We need to make some decisions here.”

Councilman Brian Mealy said the added Aug. 4 session would give the board time to “unpack what occurred” last Wednesday before returning to the issue Aug. 11.

Southold police currently do not participate in federal immigration enforcement but may assist with peacekeeping and traffic control when requested, Chief Grattan told The Suffolk Times in January.

The chief’s new draft would apply to operations conducted by any outside law-enforcement agency—not just Immigration and Customs Enforcement. If an operation appeared likely to alarm the public, he said, an officer “should then pull over and stand by during that operation and engage in peacekeeping efforts as they see fit.”

Chief Grattan said the procedure remains a draft while the department waits to see what the Town Board does.

Based on what has been publicly described, the chief’s draft centers on officers at the scene. The revised OLA proposal reaches beyond the scene, setting rules for reporting, access to town property, identification requests and court enforcement.

Whenever Southold officers respond to an immigration operation, OLA’s proposed law would require the Police Department to report the incident to the supervisor. The report would then go to the Town Board and eventually become available to the public under state Freedom of Information Law.

The legislation would authorize local officers to request identifying information from otherwise unidentified federal agents. It would also prevent town employees from voluntarily allowing agents into nonpublic areas of designated town properties without a judicial warrant, except in emergencies or when otherwise required by law.

The proposal would formally establish a community task force and allow the town attorney, local taxpayers or people alleging they were harmed by a violation to seek enforcement in court.

Supporters argue that a departmental procedure could be revised without repealing a law and that legislation is needed to guarantee public reporting and accountability. They contend that fear surrounding immigration operations can discourage residents from calling police, reporting crimes or seeking essential services.

Opponents say the legislation is unnecessary and could place local officers between federal agents and members of the public, complicate cooperation or expose the town to lawsuits. They argue that police already possess the authority needed to preserve order.

Mattituck attorney and Republican Assembly candidate Stephen Kiely offered the sharpest criticism at Wednesday’s meeting.

“We should seek ICE’s help to remove those people, and not pass a law to interfere with them,” he said of undocumented immigrants who commit crimes.

The task force supplied advice but no single answer. Five members filed recommendations supporting legislation, while other task-force documents emphasized communication, training and police procedures without recommending the proposed law.

Southold is not alone in the policy-versus-law fight. OLA had presented versions of its proposal to towns across the East End by February.

Riverhead officials said then that they were not considering the legislation. Shelter Island formed its own task force and continued reviewing OLA’s language, but Police Chief Jim Read recently said departmental policy remains the better approach.

East Hampton Town and East Hampton Village adopted versions of the legislation this spring. Those measures went beyond OLA’s current Southold proposal by restricting the use of municipal personnel, property and other resources in federal civil immigration enforcement while allowing cooperation in criminal matters or when otherwise required by law. Southold has posted the East Hampton laws among its supporting documents.

The East Hampton enactments drew a warning from Rep. Nick LaLota, who said he would not support discretionary Community Project Funding for governments that adopt policies he believes obstruct or impede lawful cooperation with federal authorities.

The funding dispute has a direct Southold connection. Mr. LaLota recently joined town officials to announce more than $1 million in federal money for 10 police vehicles and 20 upgraded radios, as The Suffolk Times previously reported.

OLA is an immigrant-advocacy organization that drafted the model legislation with former state Assemblyman Fred Thiele. Only the elected Town Board can introduce a Southold version, schedule the required public hearing and vote on whether to adopt it.

The local debate began amid mounting concern over ICE activity on the North Fork. Residents pressed the board to take a stronger stand in January, before federal agents detained three longtime North Fork residents during a Feb. 4 sweep in and around Greenport.

Six days later, the Town Board unanimously created the Public Safety Task Force to review federal, state and local policies and recommend possible public-safety measures.

The town’s Public Safety Task Force portal includes the proposed legislation and its revisions, the task force’s operating framework, a memo from the supervisor and police chief, the five members’ recommendations, a letter from the town attorney, the East Hampton legislation and the official notice for Tuesday’s meeting.

The public may attend Tuesday’s work session in person or through Zoom but will not be permitted to speak. Public comments are accepted during regular Town Board meetings.

Mr. Krupski said it remains “too early to tell” whether the board will have a measure ready for a vote at its Aug. 11 regular meeting. Even if officials agree Tuesday on the outlines of a law, they would still have to formally introduce it and hold a public hearing before adoption.

Tuesday’s special work session will run from 2:30 to 4 p.m. in the Town Hall Annex basement meeting room.