Chemung County Legislature Approves Application for DOJ Community Policing Grant After Heated Public Comment on ICE

The Chemung County Legislature voted Sept. 8 to authorize application for and acceptance of a U.S. Department of Justice Community Policing Development (COPS) microgrant offered under an FY2025 solicitation, after an extended public-comment period focused chiefly on concerns about cooperation with federal immigration agencies.

Dozens of residents packed the county legislative chambers to oppose any county role in immigration enforcement. Becca Foresight, a representative of the local chapter of the National Union of the Homeless, told legislators: "I really worry when it comes to resolutions like this. It seems like the work has already been done, the money has already been accepted, the agencies will be involved." Sofia Torres, a recent Elmira resident, said bringing ICE into the community would be a "turning point" and warned it could separate residents from families and jobs.

The widely expressed concern centered on one of the microgrant program's listed subtopics: collaboration with federal immigration and border-security agencies. Speakers urged the legislature either to reject the grant or to explicitly exclude any subprogram that would have local law enforcement share data or conduct joint operations with ICE. Several speakers cited past local and regional incidents and raised constitutional and civil-rights objections.

Legislators debated whether to table the resolution to allow more time for public review. A motion to table the item failed on a roll-call vote. The clerk then called the roll on the resolution; the body approved the…