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Needham police: department will not enforce civil immigration detainers, urges victims to report crimes
Summary
Needham Police Chief Schittler told the Human Rights Committee the department cannot enforce federal civil immigration detainers under Commonwealth case law, and said local officers will prioritize public-safety reporting and working with schools and community liaisons.
Chief Schittler, Needham’s police chief, told the Human Rights Committee that local officers cannot enforce federal civil immigration detainers and urged residents — including those who are undocumented — to report crimes without fear of local police arrest leading to immigration custody.
The chief cited Commonwealth v. Lunn (2017) as the state-level judicial guidance governing local police conduct: “we can't enforce federal law,” he said, adding that “we can't enforce those civil detainers nor can we hold anybody on those civil detainers.” He said local officers will comply with judicially issued warrants and will assist federal authorities in criminal matters where there is a signed warrant or serious criminal history,…
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