Local residents at Tuesday’s Town Board meeting continued to push for Riverhead to act on legislation proposed by the East End Latino advocacy group OLA to protect public safety during federal immigration enforcement activity.
Several speakers took the podium to urge local officials to adopt or at least publicly consider the proposed local law that OLA says will improve transparency, accountability and emergency coordination when ICE or other federal immigration agents are stopping and arresting people locally.
Riverhead board members again offered no substantive response to the speakers or the proposal itself. Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin has not invited representatives of OLA to meet with the board in a public work session and board members have stated they do not support the legislation, which some have called unnecessary.
Residents, advocates and nonprofit leaders have spoken during the open comment portion of Riverhead Town Board meetings to describe fear among Latino families, students, workers and business owners and argue that Riverhead needs a clearer local response to ICE activity.
The proposed local law is not an attempt to block federal immigration enforcement, its proponents argue, but a local public safety measure meant to spell out how town officials and police should communicate and respond when federal agents operate in the community.
The proposal was drafted by retired Assembly Member Fred Thiele, who serves on OLA’s board of directors. Another OLA board member, Rebecca Ray, told the Town Board Tuesday that the proposed law is intended to create an effective emergency response when ICE raids occur and to define roles for town and village officials and police.
Kimberly Wilder of Riverhead said OLA had gone to considerable effort to create a model law towns could use to define the proper relationship between local police and ICE, and argued that schools and churches should be protected from enforcement activity.
Allyson Matwey of Wading River said Latino members of the community are afraid and likened the proposal to the role school resource officers play in building trust and safety in schools.
Brianne Ahearn, who works with local youth organizations, said fear of ICE activity is keeping Latino youth and families away from programs, services and downtown businesses. Sarah Reynolds of Riverhead urged board members to read the proposal and meet with OLA and Thiele, while Kevin Shea of Baiting Hollow suggested broader public input, including an online survey.
Kerry Flanagan of Riverhead urged the board to consider reporting by the Associated Press about issues with hiring and training of ICE agents, including lack of completed background checks, “questionable employment history” and other “red flags” such as past bankruptcies.
Source: RiverheadLOCAL
