Acton leaders discuss federal immigration enforcement at police station; board to review proposed policy updates

Acton Police Department leaders briefed the Select Board on Oct. 6 about how the department handles federal immigration-enforcement activity, and a lengthy public comment period followed in which residents described concerns about federal agents in the community and asked the town to strengthen local protections.

Chief Kogan (Acton Police Department) told the board that the department does not participate in routine civil immigration enforcement and described how custodial notifications reach ICE during the booking process. "In that process, ICE is notified and they may contact us and let us know that they have a, detainer or some other type of, maybe a warrant for a person that they are interested in taking into custody," the chief said. He added the department follows state guidance and does not change booking procedures when ICE expresses interest: "If we do a booking and the person's ready to be released within 30 minutes, we'll let that person be released as they would be, as anyone else would be."

Select Board members, town staff and many members of the public raised concerns about the visibility of federal agents around the Police Department and about family members being notified when someone is detained. Several residents said they have seen ICE vehicles near homes and asked the town to adopt measures to limit nonessential use of the area behind the public-safety building.

Select Board member David proposed three specific measures for the board to consider: (1) clearly designate the area behind the public-safety building as employees-only and enforce the restriction so outside officers do not use it as a concealed staging area; (2) when a person in APD custody is discharged and federal officers are present, ensure the discharged person is advised of legal rights and allowed to contact counsel before leaving; and (3) explicitly extend the department’s "duty to intervene" policy to include officers of all jurisdictions, including federal agents, i.e., require Acton officers to intervene if they witness the unlawful use of force by officers of any jurisdiction.

Chief Kogan responded that the department’s current practice aims to protect safety during transfers and that the facility’s rear area, including a sally port, was designed to allow safe transfers. He described past instances when ICE asked to use portions of the lot and said officers had asked them to move to a public portion of the lot when appropriate. He also said the department documents the name and phone number of the ICE supervisor who notifies the department and that individuals in booking are permitted to make multiple phone calls while in custody.

Board discussion and next steps: the Select Board did not adopt any immediate policy change at the meeting. The chair asked Select Board member David to submit his proposed modifications in writing to the town manager so they can be reviewed by town counsel and discussed again at a future meeting. The chair also said the town’s 2017 immigration-enforcement policy remains in effect and should be highlighted on the town website so residents can find it.

Public input: more than a dozen members of the public spoke. Some asked for a town declaration reaffirming the 2017 policy; others asked for more prescriptive changes, including limiting where federal agents may assemble on town property and explicitly requiring notification and access to counsel for people being released from custody.

The board directed staff to circulate David’s suggested language to counsel and the police chief and to bring a redlined version back to the board for further consideration.