SARANAC LAKE — The village board rejected a resolution that would have kept local police from being used to enforce federal immigration law or to question or arrest someone based solely on their immigration status in a 3-2 vote on Monday, after much discussion and input from the public.

The resolution was aimed at soothing the minds of local immigrants who are concerned about being caught up in the federal government’s current mass deportation efforts, to keep local dollars from being spent on federal initiatives and to ensure local police are not made to enforce federal law.

But a majority of board members had concerns the resolution would dictate which laws the police department enforces, be unnecessary and risk federal grants coming to the village.

Trustee Aurora White first proposed a version of this resolution in February. It was voted down then in an identical 3-2 vote. She reintroduced it after several villagers asked her to. The updated resolution was drafted with input from Saranac Lake Police Chief Darin Perrotte. He didn’t directly work on drafting it, but gave his opinion on the language to White.

On Monday, White and Trustee Kelly Brunette voted for the resolution. Mayor Jimmy Williams, Deputy Mayor Matt Scollin and Trustee Sean Ryan voted against it.

After the meeting, White said she plans to reintroduce the resolution again, after several members of the public asked her to.

–

Debate

–

Some locals are concerned that local police will be asked to carry out federal immigration enforcement duties as mass deportation efforts ramp up under President Donald Trump’s administration. There’s no such directive yet, but White sees it looming. And she equates such an order to an unfunded mandate.

As federal mass deportation efforts escalate, states and local governments are responding. Some states are seeking to require sheriffs to work directly with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Others are seeking to restrict cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement.

Several supporters of the resolution said they know immigrants here on visas, work permits or green cards who stay home nowadays because they are concerned about being detained by masked, unidentified immigration agents and brought to one of the detention camps the federal government is building around the country.

Opponents said that the resolution would make the village a type of “sanctuary city,” which they said allows dangerous people who commit crimes and are here illegally to evade deportation because the local government does not cooperate with federal agencies. They said illegal immigrants use up public services on the taxpayer dime, are dangerous and are breaking the law. They also worried about the resolution risking federal grants for the village.

Although the resolution didn’t pass, Perrotte says his officers will continue to follow their existing policies, which say they shall provide fair and unbiased policing.

Williams read a letter from the chief at the meeting. Perrotte emphasized that local involvement in immigration enforcement is not an issue currently facing the community. He said village police do not currently question people about their immigration status when they come to the police for help.

Perrotte said police will continue to enforce all laws, including those related to immigration, and cooperate with federal partners to ensure the safety and security of the community.

He said the department’s policies are guided by fairness, equity and respect for all individuals, regardless of their immigration status.

There was debate over whether Perrotte supported the resolution or not. Williams and White interpreted his letter differently. Williams felt the chief’s letter said he didn’t. White felt the letter said he did.

Perrotte said he was supportive of White’s work on the resolution. He felt White wanted to reiterate the existing policy and say that people have nothing to fear by contacting the local police department. He initially shared the concern that the resolution could create a “slippery slope” of dictating what the police department does, but felt OK with the resolution presented. White said the village attorney signed off on the resolution language.

The full resolution can be read at tinyurl.com/y53zbx4k starting on page 27.

Williams felt White and an Enterprise artocle oversold how much the chief was involved in the resolution. Williams said she asked the chief questions and he answered. White said she met with the chief and sent him a draft to adjust the language on. Perrotte said he didn’t directly draft the resolution, but he gave his opinion on it and said he appreciated White’s proposal.

Williams said the village can’t pick and choose which laws the police enforce. He comes from a military background where, even if you don’t like an order, you still have to follow it. If people have an issue with a federal law, it needs to be changed at the federal level, he said.

White disagreed with the idea that the resolution would tell the police to not enforce some laws. She said the resolution aligns with SLPD’s current practices and ensures they are continued. If there’s a crime, the police would take care of it just as they always have, regardless of immigration status. But they would not enforce federal laws for another agency.

“This does not stifle the police in addressing criminal activity,” White said.

The police would still pursue judicial warrants if the resolution passed. Perrotte said if SLPD makes an arrest and they find out the arrestee has a warrant from another law enforcement agency, they contact that agency and detain the arrestee until they can be turned over, provided the warrant gives them that authority.

Scollin said, if the federal government tells the chief one thing and the state says another, the village government should not split the difference for something that is not an issue right now. A former resident of California, Scollin said some of his favorite people are undocumented immigrants. He felt that local police being asked to enforce federal laws is not an issue here now. If it becomes an issue, then the board should address it, he said.

Sean Ryan said he agrees with the resolution’s sentiment, but does not agree with its path. If the resolution is in alignment with existing police policy, he felt the village should just promote the policy. This would be a more positive approach, he said, and cut down on miscommunication where people think Saranac Lake would become a sanctuary city.

Brunette said she thinks they can do both — pass the resolution and promote the existing policy.

Williams suggested informing the public about the police policy through the village’s police interface committee, saying people could talk with cops at meetings or submit questions online.

–

Fears

–

Perrotte doesn’t believe that SLPD would be asked to assist federal immigration agencies in the future. He has never seen the federal government make a request like that. He said local police don’t enforce federal law, and federal agents usually work separately from locals. SLPD does not get involved in other agencies’ actions. If those agencies are following a lawful warrant, they can’t really intercede, he said, adding that federal agencies are not required to notify the local police of actions. When ICE raided a lumber mill in Tupper Lake in February, local police were not involved.

Perrotte does not anticipate the federal agencies asking SLPD to assist in immigration arrests, saying such a request would be a “unicorn.” If they do get asked to participate, Perrotte said his officers would provide assistance within the confines of the laws, policies and procedures they follow.

Just because it’s not currently happening here, doesn’t mean people here aren’t afraid of it happening, White said. She hears from legal immigrants who say they are afraid of the police because of what’s happening around the country.

Because of the intensity and occasional errors made in the mass deportation effort, supporters of the resolution said even people who have all the correct documentation to be here are concerned they’ll be caught up in the furor.

White said there are many different types of immigration statuses. While a lot of focus was on undocumented immigrants, she said people can have other statuses like full citizenship, visas, pending documentation, green cards, parole or temporary protected status.

Village resident Tamara Peary pointed out that some people have had legal rights to be in the U.S., but then the laws themselves were changed and their legal status was revoked. Village resident Andria Darby said if people are scared to report crimes like violence or unsafe working conditions because they’re concerned it could endanger the life they’ve made in America, it makes the community more unsafe. Peary said two Saranac Lake women wearing hijabs were recently harassed by citizens while walking to Grand Union. They already don’t feel safe in town, she said.

Darby said she decided to come to the meeting after reading Facebook comments on an Enterprise article about the resolution, which she said ranged from showing a “lack of imagination” of what it is like to be an undocumented immigrant to “unabashedly racist.”

Village resident and former Paul Smith’s College professor Joe Henderson said he has a former student who is here legally but is terrified anytime he sees someone in a uniform in town.

Village resident Virginia Slater said people go through a lot to come here. She has a friend who walked to the U.S. from South America as a child, who is worried about losing the life she’s built.

Village resident Linda Lacey said her kids have friends whose parents are on visas, work permits or green cards. They’re scared that police will take them away. She said police should be seen as heroes, not the bad guys.

The “Big Beautiful Bill,” currently being debated in the Senate, would put $150 billion toward the mass deportation agenda. It would massively increase costs to legally immigrate, seek to triple daily deportation numbers and put billions of dollars into private prisons to house detainees.

The Trump administration plans to deny asylum claims for hundreds of thousands of people who entered the U.S. illegally, fleeing violence or persecution in their home country, before requesting asylum. This would put them on track for deportation.

Immigration agents are arresting people, including children with leukemia, at their immigration hearings around the country. U.S.-born citizens have mistakenly been held for pickup by ICE by local police. Immigrants with paperwork have been detained while trying to renew their visas, after having their student visas revoked for protesting or suing the federal government or while having a lapse in their documentation while working toward permanent residency.

Village resident Sarah Coupal said ICE is not following due process and local police should not support them in their efforts.

Slater pointed out that many of the agents making these arrests are undocumented themselves, since they do not show their badges, identify what agency they are with and hide their identities with masks.

“There will be no hooded men running through Saranac Lake, I can promise you that,” Williams said.

He later recanted this statement, saying it was a “short-sighted promise” but that he doubts the chief would let something like that happen in town.

–

Public comment

–

At the meeting, village residents spoke both for and against the resolution. It led to a larger discussion on people’s beliefs about immigration — particularly undocumented immigration.

Village resident Joe Kilburn spoke against the resolution, saying it would have the police not enforcing the law and make Saranac Lake a “sanctuary” village.

“If you’re here illegally, you’ve got to go,” Kilburn said. “Do it the right way.”

He said Americans pay taxes for people to be here illegally. He compared undocumented immigration to someone coming into someone’s house uninvited, eating their food, taking their money and bathing in their tub.

“That’s breaking and entering,” Kilburn said.

Kilburn is worried about his daughter, who is going to college, walking down the street and bumping into someone who is not supposed to be here and is dangerous.

Several supporters of the resolution pointed out that the majority of undocumented immigrants pay taxes. According to the American Immigration Council non-profit, undocumented immigrant-led households paid nearly $90 billion in taxes in 2023 to state, local and federal governments.

Undocumented immigrants are generally ineligible to receive federal public benefits, since these programs require documents to apply. Some can become eligible after being granted parole, asylum or work authorization. Most are granted this through being refugees. But these programs to grant parole, asylum and work authorizations are being paused, rolled back or eliminated.

“People are not illegal,” village resident Jason Brill said, adding that unjust laws should be illegal.

Brill said local police should not be in the position of doing the federal government’s job, taking people off the street who have come here with “nothing but good intentions.” He said village police are appreciated here and told the board to not risk that.

Village resident Joy Cranker pointed out that undocumented immigration is a civil violation, not a criminal offense, and that the legal immigration process is long, expensive and complicated. She also pointed out that despite Trump’s “border czar,” Tom Homan, saying they would go after the “worst of the worst,” fewer than 10% of immigrants detained by ICE in the past few months have serious crime convictions. Three-quarters of them do not have any criminal convictions at all, other than immigration or traffic offenses. According to ICE data, 47% of the people in custody have not been convicted of or charged with any crime.

Agents have arrested far more people without criminal records than with violent convictions or charges.

ICE data shows they’ve only arrested 6% of the known undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of homicide and 11% of those who have been convicted of sexual assault.

Village resident Kim Bickford said the four years of “wide open borders” have put a financial burden on Franklin County, which has a high poverty rate. Having more people use emergency services and public assistance drains the systems and she does not want to put a higher burden on an already-stretched health care system. Williams pointed out that there were more illegal crossings in the local border sector last year than in the past 17 years combined.

Bickford said the village should also not jeopardize federal grant money.

She referenced several cases of violence committed by illegal immigrants in New York City, which has “sanctuary” policies limiting local law enforcement cooperation with ICE, including a case of a homeless woman who was burned alive on a subway car.

“There are some really bad people who are in our country right now,” Bickford said. “Protect the children from people that are here from other countries.”

Supporters of the resolution pointed out that numerous studies have shown that undocumented immigrants commit violent crime at a lower rate than American-born citizens.

Henderson said Saranac Lake has a declining population, empty storefronts and “help wanted” signs all over. He said the village needs to decide what kind of community it wants to be.

In 2023, approximately 5% of the U.S. workforce was undocumented.

Peary said it takes hundreds of J-1 visa students for Lake Placid to open for the tourism season every day. Slater said immigrants jump through a lot of hoops to get work. It’s hard to do, but they do it so they can hold jobs.

Henderson said being welcoming to immigrants could revitalize the area, and that being exclusionary could mean the region dies.

To read more about the resolution proposed, go to tinyurl.com/4uet7dw4.