Federal Immigration Partnerships Blocked in East Hampton Village
- Jack Motz
- Apr 27
- 2 min read
East Hampton Village has become the first municipality on the East End to enact a law, drafted by OLA of Eastern Long Island, that is meant to boost accountability in the event of federal immigration action.
What the blueprint drafted by OLA aims to do, primarily, is establish a series of procedures and training programs that would help deter the impersonation of federal officers and adopt local requirements for reporting enforcement activity up and down the chain, with the goal of making that information publicly available. The purpose is to boost public safety and accountability and clarify the place that local governments occupy in the event of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, raid.
East Hampton Village officials adopted a version that is stronger than the final version that OLA is promoting. This is primarily because the village law, unlike OLA’s draft, blocks village officials from entering 287(g) agreements, which essentially allow local and federal officers to work in partnership for immigration detentions. OLA removed this provision, thinking that blocking 287(g) agreements could be a stumbling block, after receiving feedback from local officials.
Another point where East Hampton Village officials gave the law extra teeth is in blocking federal officials from accessing data from the village’s Flock, or license plate reader, cameras. Data that has not been flagged in connection with a criminal investigation will be deleted within 30 days. Flock data will be stored in password-protected systems.
Village officials enacting the law, which was drafted via a collaboration between OLA and former State Assemblyman Fred Thiele, came right on the heels of a public hearing, held on April 22, during which OLA advocates spoke up.
“As I was walking up the stairs, I noticed a giant, big sign that said ‘the courage to act and the ability to perform,’” OLA Executive Director Minerva Perez said. “I thought that you as a Village Board are certainly exhibiting that with what you’ve done with this law.”
Of the 10 towns and villages with a police department, East Hampton Town and East Hampton Village have been spearheading the OLA law, while others are continuing discussions with OLA about what the law will entail.
OLA Legal Advocate Erika Padilla said the law is not about hindering federal enforcement but protecting the safety and integrity of the local community. The law will provide a simple, common sense solution, Padilla said.
“If the residents are too afraid to identify who is at their door and who is on the streets and they’re fearful to call local police for help, our entire public safety network begins to crumble,” Padilla said.
The East Hampton Town Board, which lent support to the law after a discussion on April 7, plans to hold a public hearing on May 7.
Comments