A United States Department of Homeland Security webpage published Friday to "expose sanctuary jurisdictions" that included East Hampton along with more than 500 other cities and counties, New York City, Albany, and Suffolk County among them, was removed by Monday morning, leaving more questions than answers.
For example, why was East Hampton the only Long Island township singled out? Or why was East Hampton listed at all, since it is not a sanctuary jurisdiction?
The move caught local officials off guard and prompted swift response from immigrant advocates.
"It's thuggery at its core," said Minerva Perez, executive director of Organizacion Latino Americana of Eastern Long Island. "The more it can be shown that actions taken against our local communities like this fear tactic are not meant to honor the great work of local governance but to create instability that puts us all in harm's way, the more we will stand together for safer and healthier communities across our East End."
The list was published as part of Executive Order 14287, signed by President Trump on April 28. It required Attorney General Pam Bondi, in coordination with Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, to publish "a list of states and local jurisdictions that obstruct the enforcement of federal immigration laws."
"D.H.S. is committed to exposing these lawless jurisdictions to the public and making them accountable for not respecting the rule of law," read a D.H.S. press release that accompanied the list on Friday.
"These sanctuary city politicians are endangering Americans and our law enforcement in order to protect violent criminal illegal aliens," Secretary Noem said. "We are exposing these sanctuary politicians who harbor criminal illegal aliens and defy federal law. President Trump and I will always put the safety of the American people first. Sanctuary politicians are on notice: Comply with federal law."
"Our policy is to cooperate with law enforcement," East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen said on Friday. "I don't know of anybody locally that has policies that say, 'If contacted by federal law enforcement you don't cooperate.' "
"The Town of East Hampton is not defying federal immigration law, and there is no question about our position. We are in compliance," East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez and Town Police Chief Michael Sarlo said in a joint statement that day.
In February, Mayor Larsen held a joint press conference with Sag Harbor Mayor Tom Gardella, in part to ease immigrants' concerns that local police would be taking on the role of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
The same day as the mayor's event, East Hampton officials discussed similar concerns at a town board meeting. "Our level of participation and cooperation with ICE lies in criminal matters," Chief Sarlo said. "If there is a signed warrant by a judge on criminal matters, we have a duty to honor and support their efforts to ensure that the warrant is served properly."
That policy doesn't appear to have shifted.
At the same February meeting, the town said it would hire an immigration attorney. Patrick Derenze, the town's public information officer, confirmed Monday morning that one has not been hired.
"While the town did interview five attorneys for the position, none had prior experience working with municipalities, and we ultimately decided to use the resources from New York State," he wrote. Through conversation with the governor's office, the supervisor learned that the town can receive legal guidance free of charge from the state attorney general or the New York State Office for New Americans.
After learning from Newsday about the sanctuary list released on Friday, the town was careful in its response, only issuing statements to written questions via Mr. Derenze.
"The town has not received any form of notification from the Department of Homeland Security," Jake Turner, the town attorney, said in a statement. "If the town does receive any such notification, then we shall act with the best interests of the town and its residents."
When asked if the town had any separate status or policy that would cause it to be singled out in the executive order, the supervisor leaned further on Mr. Derenze, who responded via text, "Not that we are aware of."
By Monday morning, the town had issued a new statement from the supervisor.
"We took this matter seriously and immediately began working with Congressman LaLota, County Executive Romaine, and Senator Schumer's office on Friday to get more information and clarify the situation. All three have been incredibly responsive, and we're grateful for how quickly they acted to help us get answers and advocate on the town's behalf. As we've said from the beginning, East Hampton is in full compliance with federal law."
Shortly after, Representative Nick LaLota released his own statement, without directly mentioning East Hampton.
"I strongly encourage all municipalities within Suffolk County to reject sanctuary policies and join a bipartisan effort by collaborating with the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and other federal agencies to combat illegal immigration. In doing so, we can uphold the rule of law, enhance public safety, and reaffirm that legal immigration is a foundation of our nation's prosperity and security."
