At the 2017 Town Meeting the following resolution was adopted by the Town. The original text can be found in the 2017 Town Report linked here on in hard copy at the Town Clerk's office.
Proceeding: James Mahon moved, and it was seconded, the Town vote to adopt Article 40. Following a short discussion, the Moderator declared Article 40 carried by majority voice vote.
CITIZENS’ PETITION - RESOLUTION ON IMMIGRATION ISSUES
Article 40 - We the undersigned registered voters of Williamstown, MA, do hereby request that the following resolution be placed on the warrant for the town meeting in May, 2017:
RESOLUTION ON IMMIGRATION ISSUES
WHEREAS, the Town of Williamstown desires to provide opportunity, access, and equality for immigrants, and to highlight the essential role that immigrants have played and continue to play in the life of our community; and
Whereas, the Town of Williamstown wants to be a welcoming community to immigrants and wants to establish a policy that will establish trust with them; and
Whereas, the Federal government’s department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), which is a part of the Department of Homeland Security, has from time to time used local law enforcement data to identify suspected immigrants subject to detention who are in local custody; and
Whereas, ICE issues civil immigration detainer requests which allow for prolonged detention during which ICE investigates the immigration status of suspected individuals in local custody, a practice which has been found in other jurisdictions to violate the Fourth Amendment and to expose local law enforcement agencies to liability; and
Whereas, administrative “warrants” from ICE are NOT court-issued warrants, have not been scrutinized by an independent judge, and do not in fact require Town compliance; and
Whereas, when civil immigration law is enforced by local government through the indiscriminate collection of immigration data and through the honoring of all ICE civil immigration detainer requests and administrative warrants, with the result that non-criminal aliens are targeted, the participation of immigrants in the civic, educational, religious, and economic life of the Town is restricted;
and Whereas, the Town of Williamstown seeks to ensure that all immigrants are able to participate fully in the civic, educational, religious, and economic life of our community, which benefits our businesses and economy, while broadening the experience of all of us in our increasingly connected world; and
Whereas, General Order 17-01 demonstrates that it is already the policy of the Williamstown Police Department not to investigate civil immigration laws, as this role falls to the Federal government; and
Whereas, in order to assure the permanence of this policy and its application town-wide, therefore,
Be it resolved that:
1. The Town of Williamstown proudly supports the leadership of the Town officials and especially the Williamstown Police Department in issuing General Order 17-01, on immigration laws and issues, a copy of which is attached hereto; and,
2. The Town of Williamstown further resolves that any modification to this order, or implementation of a similar order specifically impacting immigrants, shall not be effective until presentation of such action at a public meeting of the Board of Selectmen with such presentation given 30 days advance public notice in the manner required for public meetings; and
3. The Town of Williamstown further resolves that the provisions of General Order 17-01 shall extend to all employees of the Town in the following manner:
In addition to the Williamstown Police Department, already otherwise included in General Order 17-01, all town officers and employees shall not inquire about or request proof of immigration status or citizenship when providing services or benefits, except where the receipt of such services or benefits is contingent upon one’s immigration or citizenship status or where inquiries are otherwise lawfully required by federal, state, or local laws; and
The Town of Williamstown resolves that town officials shall take any and all actions related thereto in order to fully implement this Act.
GENERAL ORDER 17-01
We want the community we serve to know that the Williamstown Police Department will continue to be committed to building and maintaining positive relationships within the community. We will always serve everyone in our community and we have zero tolerance for bullying or harassment. To further this commitment, it should be known that the Williamstown Police Department does not investigate civil immigration laws, as this role falls to the federal government. All of those within our borders should be completely confident that we are here to assist them in any crisis. Municipal police exist to ensure public safety and security, and the Williamstown Police Department has worked hard to ensure that there are strong, positive relationships among all groups in this community.
We will continue in this manner moving forward, placing the following emphasis on the immigration status with Williamstown:
1. The Williamstown Police Department should not engage in certain activities solely for the purpose of enforcing federal immigration laws:
(A) Department members shall not stop, question, interrogate, investigate, or arrest an individual based solely on actual or suspected immigration or citizenship status, or a civil immigration warrant, administrative warrant, or an immigration detainer in the individual’s name, including those identified in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database;
(B) Shall not inquire about the immigration status of an individual, including a crime victim, a witness, or a person who calls or approaches the police seeking assistance, unless necessary to investigate criminal activity by that individual;
(C) Shall not perform the functions of a federal immigration officer or otherwise engage in the enforcement of federal immigration law, whether pursuant to Section 1357(g) of Title 8 of the United States Code or under any other law, regulation, or policy.
2. Absent a judicial warrant, the Williamstown Police Department should honor ICE or CBP detainer requests only in limited, specified circumstances:
Subject to the jurisdiction of the Bail Clerk of the Court referenced in 2(D) below, the Williamstown Police Department may respond affirmatively to a civil immigration detainer from ICE or CBP to detain or transfer an individual for immigration enforcement or investigation purposes for up to 48 hours ONLY IF the request is accompanied by a judicial warrant, EXCEPT THAT local police may detain a person for up to 48 hours on a “civil immigration detainer” in the absence of a judicial warrant IF:
(A) There is probable cause to believe that the individual has illegally re-entered the country after a previous removal or return as defined by 8 U.S.C. § 1326 and;
(B) the individual has been convicted at any time of (i) a specifically enumerated set of serious crimes under the Massachusetts laws (e.g., rape, fraud, racketeering, burglary, assault and battery, embezzlement, kidnapping, murder, robbery, arson, and other crimes that generally carry a penalty of one year or more in prison), or (ii) a federal crime or crime under the law of another state that would constitute a predicate felony conviction, as defined under Massachusetts Law, for any of the preceding felonies; or
(C) There is probable cause to believe that the individual has or is engaged in terrorist activity.
(D) NOTE: BAIL CLERK JURISDICTION applies to arrests made when the courts are closed. In cases of arrestees bearing valid (by the above criteria) Immigration Detainers, the following procedures apply. 1. It shall be the decision of the Bail Clerk of Court to decide whether to set a monetary bail, release on personal recognizance or order the arrestee be held in police custody via an Immigration Detainer until the next court session:
Notify the Bail Clerk of Courts as for all arrests and inform of the Immigration Detainer;
Make a copy of the Immigration Detainer and attach it to the arrest report;
Although the issuance of an Immigration Detainer is not a criminal charge, add it to the charges section of the arrest for future reporting purposes; and
Provide a copy of the Immigration Detainer to the arrestee.
2. Reminder: Federal law provides that an individual cannot be held on an Immigration Detainer for longer than forty-eight (48) hours, excluding weekends and holidays. At the end of the forty-eight (48) hour period, the Immigration Detainer shall expire forthwith.
3. Absent a judicial warrant, the Williamstown Police Department should not honor ICE or CBP requests for certain non-public, sensitive information about an individual:
(A) The Williamstown Police Department may respond affirmatively to an ICE or CBP request for non-public information about an individual, including but not limited to non-public information about an individual’s release, home address, or work address, only if the request is accompanied by a judicial warrant, EXCEPT THAT nothing in this law prohibits any local agency from:
• Sending to or receiving from any local, state, or federal agency, per 8 U.S.C. § 1373:
(i) information regarding an individual’s country of citizenship or (ii) a statement of the individual’s immigration status; or
• Disclosing information about an individual’s criminal arrests or convictions, where disclosure of such information about the individual is otherwise permitted by state law or required pursuant to subpoena or court order; or
• Disclosing information about an individual’s juvenile arrests or delinquency or youthful offender adjudications, where disclosure of such information about the individual is otherwise permitted by state law or required pursuant to subpoena or court order.
(B) The Williamstown Police Department shall limit the information collected from individuals concerning immigration or citizenship status to that necessary to perform agency duties and shall prohibit the use or disclosure of such information in any manner that violates federal, state, or local law.
4. The Williamstown Police Department should not provide ICE or CBP with access to individuals in their custody for questioning solely for immigration enforcement purposes.
5. The Williamstown Police Department should protect the due process rights of persons as to whom federal immigration enforcement requests have been made, including providing those persons with appropriate notice:
(A) Department members shall not delay bail and/or release from custody upon posting of bail solely because of
(i) an individual’s immigration or citizenship status,
(ii) a civil immigration warrant, or
(iii) an ICE or CBP request for the purposes of immigration enforcement for notification about, transfer of, detention of, or interview or interrogation of that individual.
(B) Upon receipt of an ICE or CBP detainer, transfer, notification, interview or interrogation request, the Williamstown Police Department shall provide a copy of that request to the individual named therein and inform the individual whether the Williamstown Police Department will comply with the request before communicating its response to the requesting agency.
(C) Individuals in the custody of the Williamstown Police Department shall be subject to the same booking, processing, release, and transfer procedures, policies, and practices of that agency, regardless of actual or suspected citizenship or immigration status.
6. Williamstown Police Department resources should not be used to create a federal registry based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, or national origin:
The Williamstown Police Department may not use department monies, facilities, property, equipment, or personnel to investigate, enforce, or assist in the investigation or enforcement of any federal program requiring registration of individuals on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, or national origin.
7. The Williamstown Police Department should collect and report aggregate data containing no personal identifiers regarding their receipt of, and response to, ICE and CBP requests, for the sole purpose of monitoring the Department’s compliance with all applicable laws:
The Police Chief’s annual report shall contain:
• A statistical breakdown of the total number of civil immigration detainer requests lodged with the Williamstown Police Department, organized by the reason(s) given for the request;
• A statistical breakdown of the total number of individuals that the Williamstown Police Department detained pursuant to subsection (b)(2), organized by the reason(s) supporting the detention; and
• The total number of individuals transferred to ICE custody.
DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS
“ICE” means “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement” and “CBP” means “Customs and Border Protection”.
“Civil immigration detainer” (also called a “civil immigration warrant”) means a detainer issued pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 287.7 or any similar request from ICE or CPB for detention of a person suspected of violating civil immigration law. See DHS Form I-247D (“Immigration Detainer—Request for Voluntary Action”) (5/15), available at https://www.ice.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Document/2016/I-247D.PDF .
“Judicial warrant” means a warrant based on probable cause and issued by an Article III federal judge or a federal magistrate judge that authorizes federal immigration authorities to take into custody the person who is the subject of the warrant. A judicial warrant does not include a civil immigration warrant, administrative warrant, or other document signed only by ICE or CBP officials.
“Probable cause” means more than mere suspicion or that something is at least more probable than not. “Probable cause” and “reasonable cause,” as that latter term is used in the Massachusetts criminal procedure code, are equivalent standards.
