Stay calm, record the interaction, ensure there’s a time stamp on the recording, and narrate what’s happening. Collect as much information as possible: Is the agent’s vehicle marked, what’s its license plate number; does the agent have a badge number?
If possible, collect information about the person being arrested, too. Do they have a family care plan in place or a lawyer? And finally, know that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) warrant is an administrative warrant, and being undocumented is a civil violation, not a criminal violation.
Those were just some of the recommendations made Tuesday night to an audience of about 50 residents—largely from Belmont but also from surrounding communities—on what to do if a person witnesses or is the target of arrest by ICE.
“Immigration in general is being attacked at all levels, both folks that are documented and folks that are undocumented,” said immigration attorney Elizabeth Goss.
The event, held at the Beech Street Center, was co-sponsored by the Belmont Human Rights Commission and the Belmont Democratic Town Committee. Participants included Goss, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan, and Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac.
“People are being hurt and terrible things are happening, so I’m not diminishing that, but a lot of these things were happening (before) — we used to call [President Barack] Obama the ‘Deporter-in-Chief.’ That administration deported a lot of people,” Goss said. “I would say the extremeness of the situation is times 100, but there are definitely some things that were happening before that we’re having more notice of in the news, and it’s being more highlighted.”
According to Goss, of the estimated 11 to 15 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, most have some kind of legal permission, whether that’s to live or work here. That includes DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) documentation, asylum documentation, or some other type of temporary protective status.
“What this administration is doing is revoking some of those options (statuses),” Goss said. “They’re making people with documents undocumented.”
She noted, however, that being undocumented isn’t a criminal offense; those convicted of crimes are subject to deportation under the law.
“ICE has scrupulously, to the line, followed what they are allowed to do with respect to when they come to court,” said Ryan, explaining that if a person is released from custody—for whatever reason—ICE has the authority to arrest them. “They also, with the exception of a few pretty public takings, have been fairly quiet here. I don’t want to jinx us.”
MacIsaac, meanwhile, reiterated his previous comments: local police departments are not compelled to enforce federal law and work with ICE. In Massachusetts, he added, it would be unlawful for his department to hold a person with an immigration detainer.
In Belmont, he said, the department “doesn’t really get involved” with the agency. Whereas local agents may work alongside the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), “ICE is something I’m totally unfamiliar with.”
“I also didn’t think we’d see ICE agents here in Belmont,” MacIsaac added. “I think that’s maybe changed a little bit over the last few months from my interaction with other police chiefs that have had ICE in their communities.”
Sometimes, his peers have received advanced notice ICE would be in town; other times, ICE agents have simply shown up to stage their operation in the department’s parking lot.
“I think it probably depends on … who’s running that team that day and whether they’re going to call or just show up,” he said.
With one exception from a resident who expressed concern for “unvetted people committing crimes here in Belmont” — to which Ryan responded that nobody in the room had ever been vetted before being allowed to walk the streets—most spoke out of concern for members of the community who may fear deportation, regardless of their documentation status.
“It’s pretty well-documented that there’s far less crime committed by undocumented individuals,” Goss said.
Responding to a question from Hal Shubin, who is the chair of the Belmont Farmers’ Market committee, Ryan said that if an agent were to show up at the Belmont Farmers’ Market looking for someone, he and others are not compelled to give ICE agents any information.
“Unlike a court officer, you’re not obligated to say anything,” Goss said. “Keep a safe distance, and record.”
Compounding the current controversy is the country’s “antiquated” immigration law.
“We haven’t had reform since 1990,” Goss said. “There’s been no political will in the last decades to get the system to reflect what is happening in our society today.”
As a result, new pathways have been created to allow more people to come to the United States to meet workforce needs, for example.
“We need immigration reform,” she said. “Democrats don’t control the House or the Senate, but we have a state delegation that is majority Democrat and they should be advocating for good law.”
Elected officials need to be held accountable, she said.
“They miss the ball on immigration all the time,” she said. “Why? We should hold our elected officials accountable.”
