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Residents urge trustees to scrutinize SPEAR task force MOU over possible data sharing with HSI/ICE
Summary
Multiple residents told the board they fear the SPEAR regional task force memorandum of understanding could permit federal access to local police data, and asked the town to withhold approval until the MOU's language and operations manual are clarified and reviewed by legal counsel.
Several Carbondale residents urged the Board of Trustees to scrutinize the SPEAR task force memorandum of understanding and to seek stronger, enforceable safeguards before continuing town participation.
Debbie Burrell told trustees she is "concerned that our local police force can't control what data HSI can and cannot access" and said two attorneys advised her it's likely HSI can access data through the task force. Eden Steele and other speakers described a "chilling effect" when local policing is perceived to be entangled with immigration enforcement and cited instances in Garfield County when 911 calls were followed by immigration enforcement actions. Ben Green argued the MOU is nonbinding and operations rules are left to an operations manual that "doesn't exist," saying that without enforceable operational rules HSI (a component of DHS and associated with ICE) could access pooled intelligence. Several speakers asked the town to demand proof of what data is — and is not — accessible through SPEAR's system.
Trustees acknowledged the public concerns. Town staff said they are awaiting a revised draft of the MOU from the county and expect to review technical, operational and legal language before bringing recommendations back to the board; staff invited the public to participate in the follow-up discussion. Trustees agreed to schedule a discussion during one of their August meetings once staff and the county provide the draft.
