East End Towns, Villages, Debate Proposed ICE Regs

During the past year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have made their presence felt throughout the Hamptons and North Fork, arresting dozens of people and sending fear through neighborhoods where some residents say they are afraid to shop, take their kids to school, or even to show up at religious services.

The Village of East Hampton appears to be ahead of the other municipalities when it comes to taking some sort of action. Village board members voiced their support for a measure that would block federal law-enforcement officials from accessing data taken from license plate readers used by village police. East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen said that if the agents want information they will have to request it from the village.

East Hampton Town has also discussed OLA’s proposal after OLA Executive Director Minerva Perez addressed a board meeting. Perez said board members appeared to be in accord with OLA.

“We have hope for that,” Perez said. “We think everyone is getting it.”

The town board is to hold a public hearing on the matter in mid-May.

Sag Harbor Mayor Tom Gardella has been in talks with Perez. Gardella said he hopes to “calm the anxiety” spread by ICE’s actions on the East End and across the country, but is awaiting further talks with local law enforcement.

Kevin Stuessi, the mayor of Greenport Village, told Dan’s Papers that while the municipality does not have its own police force, he will work with the Town of Southold to assure the safety and fair treatment of residents.

President Donald Trump’s nationwide crackdown on what he said is “a massive influx of dangerous illegal immigrants” has had a deep impact on the five East End towns, where a number of suspected undocumented immigrants work on farms, in hotels and at restaurants. About 38% of the population of Greenport — where one highly-publicized arrest was recently made — is Hispanic.

“For us, it’s about finding common ground” with federal agents, Leah Suarez, communications manager for OLA, told Dan’s Papers. “It’s not our intention to obstruct the officers, but to make sure our people are protected.”

New York State Attorney General Letitia James said she will send out “legal observers” to monitor ICE raids. James also said she has launched a digital portal for residents to submit video evidence of possible legal violations by ICE agents.

In the last few months, OLA has appeared at public meetings of East End towns and villages proposing legislation to be considered by the municipalities that have their own police departments. The proposed legislation was written by former New York State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., a Democrat from Sag Harbor. The proposal is written so that towns and villages may adapt it to suit their individual needs.

Among the key points:

The law includes a rule blocking federal officials from accessing data taken from license plate readers used by village or town police.

East End police department responding to ICE raids would be required to create reports about the incidents that would be made public.

Towns and villages would be required to set protocols for sharing information about immigration raids with the public.

East End police departments would be required to check federal agents’ identification and to scan their vehicles, which at times are not marked.

Towns and villages would establish a community task force to “that shall fully represent the full range of community stakeholders with an interest in maintaining public safety during immigration enforcement operations…”

No federal agent will be permitted to enter a non-public area of a town or village to conduct an immigration enforcement operation.

Thiele, who served in the State Assembly from 1995 to 2024 before deciding not to run again, told Dan’s Papers that he had to carefully determine what states are permitted to do in regard to federal law-enforcement actions. He decided: “The towns and villages must keep residents safe.”

He said based on reports he had seen and heard, agents had sometimes “abused” their power.

Anita Boyer of Hampton Bays, who has been among the most active East End resident protesting ICE’s activities, told Dan’s Papers that “accountability” is absolutely necessary these days. She said the village of Greenport “has been hit hard by ICE,” referring to the recent arrest of three men. Community leaders said none of the three had criminal arrest records. About 25% of local school students stayed home from school for a few days after the arrests.

“If you look at it all, who gets hit hard has to do with where Trump perceives his enemies are,” Boyer said. “Greenport is a liberal village.”

Towns and villages have heard the proposals and many officials say they are considering adopting some of them. Some East End officials say they expect the town to adopt many of OLA’s proposals.

East Hampton village mayor Jerry Larsen said at a recent board meeting that he “felt strongly” about the issue.

“I appreciate the work that OLA has done to put rapid response teams in place,” Larsen said. “They brought a law forward that they recommended. I agree that we should have a law in place. I think it codifies what our police department is already doing, but it reassures the public that we are doing the right thing.”