Southold Task Force Set to Deliver Immigration Law Findings Wednesday

Southold's Public Safety Task Force is scheduled to present its findings and recommendations to the Town Board on Wednesday morning as the town weighs whether to adopt a local law that would govern how municipal resources may be used during federal immigration enforcement operations.

The special joint meeting of the Town Board and the task force is set to begin at 8 a.m. Councilman Brian Mealy said task force members will lay out what they found as the board considers the Public Safety and Accountability Local Law proposed by OLA of Eastern Long Island, a Latino advocacy group that has been circulating the draft measure among East End municipalities.

The Southold Town Board unanimously created the 12-member volunteer task force in February, days after federal immigration agents detained three longtime North Fork residents during a sweep in and around Greenport. The task force includes Town Supervisor Al Krupski, two Town Board members, Police Chief Steven Grattan and a second Police Department representative, along with members drawn from Greenport Village, a local school district and several community organizations.

The OLA proposal is designed to limit the use of municipal personnel and resources in federal civil immigration operations while still permitting cooperation in criminal matters or when required by law. East Hampton Village and East Hampton Town adopted versions of the measure earlier this year.

The debate has drawn pushback from Rep. Nick LaLota, who has argued that the law's operative provisions could complicate local police cooperation with federal immigration authorities and reiterated that he would oppose discretionary federal funding for towns that voluntarily adopt such policies.

Southold has not adopted the proposal outright; Wednesday's presentation marks the next formal step in the town's deliberations.