East Hampton government officials are trying to quell wealthy residents’ fears that local police could deport illegal migrants from the tony town — many of whom work as maids, landscapers, and nannies to support the luxurious lifestyles of the well-off locals.
Village and town leaders held a special community meeting on Tuesday to assure citizens of Long Island’s exclusive nabe — where the median property value is $2 million — that their hired help are not on their radar when it comes to deportation.
East Hampton Village Police Chief Jeffrey Erickson stressed that local law enforcement do not have authority to enforce federal law — and won’t hold onto undocumented immigrants if given an ICE detainer.
“If it is an ICE detainer or an administrative warrant, we do not have the authority, we will not hold them,” Erickson told a concerned resident, according to the East Hampton Star.
The sentiment was echoed by East Hampton Town Police Chief Michael Sarlo at a separate meeting.
“Our level of participation and cooperation with ICE lies in criminal matters,” Sarlo told the town board at a meeting Tuesday.
“I haven’t seen an ICE agent in this town in I can’t tell you how long.”
“You see what I’m wearing here,” Sarlo said dramatically pointing to his firearm, “People who wear this and put this on don’t interfere with other people who wear this and put this on because then people die. You don’t step in front of an Immigration Enforcement officer in uniform with a gun and a badge who’s taking his action.”
“That’s for attorneys to get involved in and that is for policies and procedures through the state to get involved,” he added.
Some East Hampton residents were grateful for the reassurance that their undocumented employees and neighbors will be able to avoid deportation.
“I think it’s a very good idea and very helpful considering we have a very large community here, and people rely on them,” Alex Lovett, of East Hampton, told News12.
“They’ve been a vital part of the community for a very long time,” she empathized.
The local officials said a major purpose for the small-scale messaging campaign is to assure undocumented residents that they can interact with police without fear of deportation.
“If they’re a victim of a crime, we don’t want them to fear the police, we want them to call us so we can protect them,” Erickson said in an interview to the local news station.
Also on Tuesday, the East Hampton Town Board held a two-hour public hearing where members of the Latino community expressed their concerns over the Trump administration’s new immigration policies.
Sandra Melendez — an East Hampton Village trustee, immigration attorney, and Spanish speaker –addressed the community and stressed that they are not obligated to cooperate with ICE, the local paper reported.
At that town board hearing Councilwoman Cate Rogers stated that the well-heeled townies will remain vigilant as the federal government attempts to enforce immigration law.
“The rules are being rewritten by the second,” the councilwoman said, according to the East Hampton Star. “I want to assure everyone that this is the beginning of a conversation. It’s not a one-and-done statement, ‘Okay we did our job let’s move on.’ We’re invested. We’re your neighbors, and we’re with you.”
This resistance-style approach taken by the officials in East Hampton is a far cry from the actions taken by authorities elsewhere on Long Island.
Earlier this week, Nassau County police were granted authority to help ICE arrest criminal migrants under a new agreement with the Trump administration.
Ten detectives were granted the authority from County Executive Bruce Blakeman and will coordinate with ICE.
“Our detectives will arrest illegal immigrants engaged in criminal activity. We want to make sure these people are locked up and deported,” Blakeman told The Post.
“We don’t want illegal immigrants roaming around our community committing crimes. We don’t want them in our community.”
