With concern growing about increased federal immigration enforcement activity on the East End, OLA of Eastern Long Island urged the Riverhead Town Board Wednesday night to consider legislation it says would help local police protect public safety while improving transparency and accountability.

Riverhead officials offered no response during the meeting, and it’s unclear whether the proposal will gain support. The next morning, Supervisor Jerry Halpin said he has no immediate plans to put it on a Town Board work session agenda for discussion. Council Member Ken Rothwell, the board’s senior member and Halpin’s challenger in the November election, said he would not support it.

OLA’s request came during the open comments portion of the Feb. 18 Riverhead Town Board meeting, after nearly three hours of other business had concluded. Board members listened quietly as OLA Executive Director Minerva Perez and 13 other speakers spoke in support of the proposal.

Perez told the board that OLA (Organización Latino Americana), which she said has served the East End for 23 years, is seeking action with “a level of urgency,” citing what she described as changing ICE “patterns and activity” and “random raids.” She said OLA sent the proposal to Riverhead and nine other East End towns and villages that maintain their own police departments.

“This is not an anti-ICE resolution or local law,” Perez said, arguing that the point is not to stop federal enforcement but to establish local protocols for public safety, transparency and accountability when federal actions occur in the community.

“What we’re seeing right now in the East End of Long Island is the relative peace and calm and safety that people have come to truly enjoy … is disrupted at a very different level when ICE comes to town with little regard for public safety of any kind,” Perez said. “There’s no faith in the fact that there’s going to be order and calm and safety in the actions of ICE at this point. So we can’t rely on that.”

Speaker after speaker urged the Town Board to take up OLA’s proposed “public safety and accountability” local law, arguing that stepped-up or more aggressive federal immigration enforcement operations — described as masked, chaotic and sometimes lacking clear identification — are already creating fear, disrupting community trust and complicating local emergency response.

“Public safety suffers because trust breaks down,” Rosario Rodriguez of Riverhead said.

“Our community is being affected and concerned by what is going on right now in the community of hard-working residents with no criminal records,” said David Amaya of Riverhead. “They’re being persecuted by federal agents only because of their Hispanic profile. Businesses are being affected. Children are being affected.”

Amaya urged the board to support the proposal in the interest of community unity.

Source: RiverheadLOCAL