As the incoming Trump administration prepares to fulfill its pledge to embark on a mass deportation campaign, the Marblehead Police Department will remain committed to protecting anyone who lives or visits the town regardless of immigration status, Police Chief Dennis King said.
Just how aggressive the deportation campaign will become remains to be seen. Trump has indicated on social media that he plans to use military assets to aid the effort, while his border czar nominee, Tom Homan, described the day one approach as “shock and awe” on Donald Trump Jr.’s podcast.
However, in other media interviews, Homan, who served as the acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the first Trump administration, has also described a “targeted enforcement operation” prioritizing the deportation of unauthorized immigrants with criminal histories, which would not involve massive raids or neighborhood sweeps.
King said that there is no one answer to the question of whether the Marblehead Police would protect someone in the United States illegally against a federal agency that was taking legal action against them.
“It would be on a case-by-case basis,” he said.
But King added, “I want MPD to be a place where anyone is comfortable, without fear of prosecution, to come forward if they are a victim of a crime.”
That would include helping with an application for a “U” (crime victim) or “V” (human trafficking victim) visa after consultation with the Essex County District Attorney’s Office, the chief said.
King noted that in the 2017 case Lunn v. Commonwealth, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that there was no authority under state law for Massachusetts court officers — or, by extension, local law enforcement — to arrest and hold an individual solely on the basis of a federal civil immigration detainer beyond the time that the individual would otherwise be entitled to be released from custody.
During the first Trump administration, King said his department incorporated the lessons from the Lunn decision into a training bulletin about compliance with immigration detainers, which the department would continue to follow.
“In essence — and there is a lot to this — if the person hasn’t committed a new crime, we would not detain an individual on a civil detainment order alone or warrant of removal unless it was issued by a judge,” King said. “There would need to be probable cause for a new crime to arrest.”
When a federal agency such as ICE asks for assistance, the Marblehead Police Department follows its policies and identifies whether the individual in question is wanted for a violent act or committing certain felonies that put the community at significant risk.
“When this criteria is met, in the interest of the public’s safety, we would work to take that individual into custody and charge them with any violations of state law,” he said.
King added that the MPD is committed to bias-free policing.
“That means we do not stop, detain, question, frisk [or] search based on a generalized belief that a person of a particular race, ethnicity or national origin is more likely to commit certain types of crimes,” he said. “To base our decisions on characteristics such as gender identity, race, ethnicity or immigration status — to name a few — is strictly prohibited.”
Marblehead resident Diann Slavit Baylis, an immigration attorney, said she feels fortunate to live in a town where bias-free policing will be the police department policy.
“This is not the case in all communities, in Massachusetts and elsewhere, as discretion can reflect bias,” she said. “Such a policy looks good on paper, but the fear is whether cities and towns throughout the United States will live up to it.”
Slavit Baylis added that she is glad to live in Massachusetts, where state leaders are trying to not only treat the immigrant population fairly but are extending our resources to help them.
“I hate to guess what would happen in a community unlike Marblehead where bias is rampant and where immigrants will not only have to worry about ICE, whose actions will be dictated by a very targeted attempt to rid our country of immigrants, but also by a biased local community where police actions may reflect that,” she said.
Fellow Marblehead resident and immigration attorney Nancy Norman said that, naturally, the threat of deportation is very scary, especially to those who have lived in the United States for many years and have extensive family ties. However, she noted that the immediate deportations can only occur when individuals have already been through the immigration system and have been ordered removed from the country.
“Over the next few months, there will be more information as to how these deportations will be executed,” Norman said. “Based upon the available information from the incoming administration, the priority will be those with removal orders who have criminal backgrounds.”
She noted that the issues highlighted by King — whether local police have the authority to detain persons who have not committed a crime within their jurisdiction and whether local police in Massachusetts have the authority to detain persons simply because they lack documentation of legal status in the U.S. — are likely to be litigated extensively in the federal courts and could evolve rapidly.
Slavit Baylis noted that she had developed a relationship with some immigrants in Marblehead who have temporary protected status, a population that Trump has indicated he will target.
“Like many immigrants, because TPS does not provide a route to citizenship, they have to look at other routes that they have a valid right to pursue,” Slavit Baylis said.
Immigrants that have TPS status received it for a reason, such as flight from countries racked by gang violence or political upheaval, she noted.
“The immigrants I know in Marblehead have applied for asylum and will be allowed to continue to work and stay here until their asylum is decided,” she said. “In the meantime, these very hard-working, law-abiding people have to live with the fear that the Trump Administration may not always provide due process.”
Norman agreed that the clock is ticking.
“This is a very important time for those individuals with no immigration status to consider what paths are available under the immigration laws to adjust their status in the U.S.,” she said.
