Police chief reaffirms department policy on ICE requests, cites SJC Lund decision

Westborough Police Chief Todd Manardi opened the public-comment portion of the Select Board meeting with a clarification of department practice and limits regarding immigration enforcement.

Manardi said the department’s top obligation is public safety and protection of constitutional rights and that "nothing about the Westborough Police Department's approach to immigration enforcement has changed." He explained that ICE is a federal agency with nationwide jurisdiction and that local officers do not have authority to detain individuals solely on administrative ICE detainers. He cited the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision Lund v. Commonwealth (2017) and stated: "we will not and cannot hold any person beyond the time they would otherwise be released purely to satisfy an ICE request or a detainer." Manardi said the department cooperates with federal immigration authorities on criminal investigations only to the extent permitted by state and federal law and provides information strictly as authorized by law.

He also asked for civil public discourse and warned that exceeding local legal authority would not only be unlawful but could "open the town to considerable civil liability." The chief encouraged respectful engagement and said he had repeatedly shared the department’s stance with residents and officials through emails, press statements and social-media posts.

No board action followed the statement; members thanked the chief and moved to subsequent agenda items.