Brookline To Get Specific On ICE Policies, Raids And Police

BROOKLINE, MA — As the nation navigates new presidential policies so far as they relate to immigrants in the country illegally, Brookline has been examining its own. Brookline's commission tasked with making a recommendation to town officials has 11 specific recommendations from asking that local police officers not help ICE agents gain access to a building to not allowing them to wear ICE clothing.

The policy recommendation hasn't been taken up in the selectmen's room, yet, but Chairman of the Board of Selectmen Neil Wishinsky said he was looking forward to seeing the specific recommendations.

"The board is very supportive of those kinds of policies, to me it's just a matter of are these policies administratively possible. Do they hamper the core mission of the police department?" he said. "Clearly we're not in the business of the enforcement of immigration laws. The federal government can do that, not us."

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Earlier this year the Board of Selectmen prohibited the use of Town resources for immigration enforcement. But what does that mean for police officers? Where is the line? The Commission for Diversity, Inclusion and Community Relations released guidelines for police to follow while operating in the field to help officers in the line of duty. And it turns out, Brookline may be the first community in the commonwealth to outline specific guidelines on immigration raids.

"The policy recognizes and creates a balance between the prohibition adopted by the [Board of Selectmen] and our officers’ sworn duty to protect the safety of the public," said the commission in a statement that was approved a couple of weeks ago.

The policy also requires Brookline Police officers to alert Town Hall the moment they know of an ICE raid, and to keep records on such raids and requests. In addition, the commission asks that Brookline Police not wear any ICE gear and that the Brookline Police Department ask ICE officials to make sure they wear clothing that identifies them as ICE officials and distinguishes them from local police.

Read the rest of the policies the commission came up with here:

1. Under no circumstance, will any member of the Brookline Police Department provide consent to any Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent to pose as a Brookline Police Officer. All such requests shall be documented and made available upon request from the public.
2. When notified that an Immigration Raid is going to take place in the town, the Brookline Police Department shall request that all ICE agents visually identify themselves as ICE agents while in the Town.
3. The Brookline Police Department shall notify the Town Administrator as soon as it is feasible to do so, of any Immigration Raid which takes place in the Town.
4. The Brookline Police Department shall request a copy of any administrative or judicial warrants prior to, or while on the scene, of an Immigration Raid. The Brookline Police Department shall endeavor to verify the validity of any such warrants and keep a record of such warrants and actions taken. To the extent possible, the Brookline Police Department will endeavor to verify that the individuals presenting themselves as ICE agents are in fact such.
5. No member of the Brookline Police Department shall assist ICE agents during an Immigration Raid, nor shall any member of the Brookline Police Department participate in an Immigration Raid. Members of the Brookline Police Department may however, separate and apart from ICE agents, engage in activities designed to ensure the safety of the public during an Immigration Raid. Insofar as it is possible, members of the Brookline Police Department shall endeavor to make themselves visibly distinguishable from ICE agents.

Brookline Police Department should not engage in any of the following activities during an Immigration Raid:

1. Arrest any person unless there is a judicial warrant for that person’s arrest or there is probable cause to arrest them for a state criminal offense.
2. Physically control any person unless subject to a lawful arrest by the Brookline Police Department pursuant to a judicial warrant or if there is probable cause to arrest them for a state criminal offense.
3. Maintain supervision over any person unless subject to a lawful arrest by the Brookline Police Department pursuant to a judicial warrant or based on probable cause for a state criminal offense.
4. Interrogate any person at the request of an ICE agent, or to independently facilitate the Immigration Raid.
5. Facilitate an ICE agent’s access or entry into any dwelling, business, or other building.
6. Impede the rights of any person engaging in lawful peaceful protest or assembly.

Photo by Jenna Fisher/ Patch