Needham board reviews draft policy limiting local cooperation with ICE after resident pleas

Needham’s Select Board spent the bulk of its March 24 meeting reviewing a proposed town policy intended to limit local participation in federal civil immigration enforcement and to clarify what residents should expect of local police.

The board’s vice chair, Kathy Dowd, walked members through draft clauses meant to codify current practice and to add specific prohibitions: officers would not initiate investigations solely on the basis of immigration status; the department would not enter into section 287(g) memoranda of understanding with ICE; officers would not extend detention based only on an ICE civil detainer; and the town manager would decline requests to use town property for immigration processing unless presented with a judicial warrant. The draft also requires the police to establish a process to notify a person in custody if an immigration detainer has been lodged…