East Hampton Town bars ICE cooperation deals

East Hampton Town on Tuesday adopted legislation barring its police from cooperating with federal authorities on civil immigration enforcement.

The town board voted unanimously to approve the bill during its meeting on Tuesday. The new law prohibits town police from assisting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in civil immigration enforcement. The measure allows town police to cooperate in criminal cases or when officers are presented with a judicial warrant.

Town officials framed the measure as a step to strengthen public safety by reinforcing trust between members of law enforcement and immigrant communities. About 27% of the town's population is Hispanic or Latino, and about 23% are foreign-born, according to U.S. census estimates.

Advocates have said the threat of deportation can deter residents from reporting crimes or cooperating with police.

The legislation bars the town from entering into 287(g) agreements with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which allows police departments to partner with ICE on immigration enforcement. Such agreements have been used in Nassau County, where local detectives have been deputized to assist federal agents.

Latino and immigrant neighbors are “part of the fabric of East Hampton,” Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez said before the vote. “I want them to hear this clearly: You are not alone and you belong here. You should not have to choose between your health and your fear.”

“Local government cannot take away every fear, but we can listen,” she said. “We can show up, we can make sure people know they matter, and we can do everything in our power to make sure every resident feels seen, heard and protected.”

East Hampton Village adopted a similar bill on April 22. Both measures are a version of the “public safety and accountability” law developed by OLA of Eastern Long Island, a Latino advocacy nonprofit based in East Hampton.

In response to East Hampton Town’s adoption, an ICE spokesperson said in a statement to Newsday that ICE has had “tremendous success” when working with local law enforcement.

“Partnerships with law enforcement are critical to having the resources we need to arrest criminal illegal aliens across the country,” the statement said. “When politicians bar local law enforcement from working with ICE, our law enforcement officers have to have a more visible presence so that we can find and apprehend the criminals let out of jails and back into communities,” the spokesperson said. “Seven of the top 10 safest cities in the United States cooperate with ICE.”

The action follows a period of heightened immigration enforcement activity on the East End. Advocates say increased deportation efforts during the Trump administration has raised anxiety among Latino residents, a significant portion of the region’s population.

State lawmakers are looking to ban municipalities from entering 287(g) agreements statewide. President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, has threatened to “flood the zone” with immigration agents if New York passes those bills.

The town law allows police to request identification from federal agents conducting immigration operations, addressing residents' concerns about potential impersonations.

It also requires police to notify and report federal immigration raids to town officials, if officers are called to respond, and create a task force to address concerns about immigration enforcement.

Minerva Perez, OLA’s executive director, said East Hampton Town’s new law will help Latino and immigrant community members feel safe in the event of an ICE raid.

“It is knowing that our town and our town police have committed to being a presence in the event that there are actions that are causing great panic and chaos,” Perez said. “They've committed to responding, assessing, reporting back, and that commitment along with everything else that police have already been doing to support public safety.”

OLA has advocated for all East End towns and villages with police departments to adopt its proposal, but only East Hampton town and village have acted. The Southold Town Board in February created a task force to review the proposal.