'There's a lot of fear.' Prompted by this year's ICE arrests, Great Barrington will revisit its 2017 Trust Policy

GREAT BARRINGTON — Earlier this year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested several people in town, causing fear and outrage as masked and armed federal agents gave little information to those recording and questioned the officers.
The manner of the arrests and use of town property by ICE are prompting the Select Board to revisit the 2017 Trust Policy with the social justice group Multicultural Bridge to clarify protocols for interactions with federal agents and the use of town resources.
Select Board member Ben Elliott witnessed the May 6 arrest of two men in an apartment building and recorded what he was seeing. He said he would like clearly written policies to determine what town resources are available to federal agents and whether the town can legally prevent federal officers from using municipal property for staging operations, citing the use of Olympian Meadows field for staging a different raid in town.

BREAKINGMasked, armed ICE agents arrest two men in Great Barrington apartment building as witnesses taunt, shoot video

•  3 min to read

“It still lingers with me and that incident and the incidents that followed, as many feelings and as many fears as it raised, it also raised questions about exactly what is our policy and how we engage,” Elliott said.
The board voted to approve the review of the policy, with Garfield Reed voting as present, arguing he didn't see the need to do so.
The Trust Policy, a variation of a sanctuary town bylaw, bars the town from using resources to assist ICE without a warrant and aims to ensure residents are treated fairly.
“Given the political climate, there’s a need for a call for safety and trust building again,” Gwendolyn VanSant, executive director of Multicultural Bridge, said.
Unlike a largely symbolic sanctuary designation, the policy sets specific limits on cooperation with federal immigration authorities and is designed to build trust with immigrant residents by allowing victims and witnesses to report crimes without fear.
Though spotlighted this year by federal immigration actions, it is meant to protect all vulnerable populations, and VanSant hopes an updated version could serve as a model for other towns in the county.
“I’m very excited to be intentionally looking at the Trust Policy in these political times and updating it in general, because we have work that we wanted to continue, but also it’s what’s required right now because of the political climate,” VanSant said.
The policy is not meant to obstruct ICE when pursuing individuals with criminal charges, but the agency’s actions nationally and locally have left many feeling unsafe, VanSant said.“We’re not trying to obstruct the law in any way,” VanSant said. “We also feel like there’s a lot more safety at risk in the way that these things have gone down so far in our community.”
VanSant said residents have raised concerns about transparency and whether those targeted have criminal records.
“Many people feel like we are next? Where's the ‘law and order?’ and who's protecting us?” VanSant said.
Over the last few Select Board meetings, concerned citizens have spoken on behalf of Bridge to keep the conversation going and better inform the Select Board on the policy and what is being discussed during the Bridge meetings.
“The idea is it’s safer for everybody if the local police are doing what they’re intended to do. They're not enforcing immigration policy,” Erica Mielke said during a Nov. 17 Select Board meeting. “It’s about making it safer for everyone to feel that they can report being a witness to crimes. We hashed this all out in 2016 and at a town meeting in 2017.”
VanSant said she would like to bring back a citizen police academy, where residents learn about police work, decision-making and available resources.
“We always want people to develop mutual understanding and mutual respect,” VanSant said. “We can hold each other accountable. We don’t have to agree, but I do think everybody needs to understand where each person’s coming from and the Citizens Academy is really important to that.”
She said the academy would be one of the first steps in updating the Trust Policy.
“It's really an interesting course, and having an insight to what somebody else's job is, but especially one that can be under such scrutiny, it's important to be informed with what we're critiquing, what we're holding accountable and the baseline of real trust and relationships is the key,” VanSant said.
There were always things Bridge wanted to return to the policy for, but recent actions by the federal government have made it so that time is now.
“It's really important for people to understand that even people who are acting strange or sitting back or not engaging in programs, it's because of the fear of what feels unreasonable and unlawful and unsafe, not necessarily because there's some concern," VanSant said.
Bridge is a culturally specific public health organization concerned about rising fear among residents, VanSant said. It’s also concerning that the fear is causing families to be less trusting of the resources they need to be healthy.
“People that really don't even have any reason to feel scared, feel scared,” VanSant said. “People feel like 'they're coming after me next' or 'are they going to really take the time to understand who I am or what my situation is?' There’s just a lot of fear.”
VanSant hopes that the conversation will remain ongoing and adjust as the community needs.
“We’re taking a long, intentional road and building trust and rebuilding trust and safety, mutual understanding, partnerships that are respected and listening to community voices, but in ways that we don’t want to create more vulnerable members,” VanSant said.
Talia Lissauer can be reached at [email protected] and 413-496-6378.