Kingston officially became a sanctuary city on Jan. 10, 2017, after a resolution was passed by the Common Council declaring the city welcoming and inclusive, and reinforcing that Kingston Police Department officers do not ask immigration status when talking to crime victims, witnesses or people during routine police work.

However, Immigration, Customs and Enforcement (ICE) continues to make arrests in the area. On July 27, one individual was detained on Church Hill Road just outside of Kingston. Two other individuals fled the scene. On Aug. 20, another member of that same individual’s family, who was the primary breadwinner, was also detained in Wallkill at his place of work.

Jordan Kerzee, a member of the coordinating team for Ulster Rapid Response (URR), said that the pro-immigrant organization seeks to document ICE activity and inform the community at large. Members of the organization were present and able to document the July 27 arrest.

“What we've seen is that there's been a big outpouring from the community at large to try to prevent kidnappings from happening, and trying to support people who have been detained by ICE in various ways,” Kerzee said. “Our role in these things is to really document law enforcement as they're doing these actions, and so we were present enough to be able to see what happened.”

New York passed a statewide law enforcement mask ban as part of the state budget, but was blocked by a federal court in August. On Aug. 25, New York passed a statewide ban on agreements between ICE and local law enforcement, but several counties in the northern and western part of the state, as well as Rensselaer and Nassau counties, are refusing to comply.

“We continue to have an executive order in place, issued by former county executive Pat Ryan during the first Trump administration, directing that county employees shall not collect or share information on immigration status unless required to do so by federal law,” county communications chief Amberly Jane Campbell told Kingston Wire. “The executive order also prohibits federal immigration officials from accessing individuals in county custody or using county facilities for questioning without a judicial warrant signed by a judge.”

But while Kingston and New York in general pass resolutions and laws condemning ICE and vowing to protect immigrant community members, and Kerzee describes a “huge outpouring of support” from Ulster County, enforcement of these resolutions is another matter.

Kingston Police Department Chief Edigio Tinti stated publicly that the KPD wasn’t involved in the arrest and that it happened out of their jurisdiction.

“Truthfully, it is our understanding that there were other law enforcement agencies, including local law enforcement agencies, present at that time,” Kerzee said. “Personally speaking, I think local law enforcement does have a duty to uphold some of the baseline standards that have now been enacted.”

According to Patty Grossman, a board member of Ulster Immigrant Defense Network (UIDN), the detained individual is currently in Delaney Hall in Newark, N.J. and his family has secured a lawyer for him. While one of UIDN’s case managers attempted to visit him, they were denied entry. The second individual detained is also at Delaney Hall, and Ulster Rapid Response is fundraising with a goal of $10,000 to assist both families of the detained individuals.

“Unfortunately, the only viable option for the person detained may be to self-deport and face dangerous conditions in his country of origin, as legal avenues for immigrants to remain in the U.S. shrink,” the fundraiser reads. “This is a traumatic and devastating situation, and sadly, it is becoming more common as federal immigration enforcement increases its deportation and terror campaign.”

Kerzee said that immigrants who are concerned about ICE or are being detained should have emergency contacts accessible and memorized, provide dependents with an emergency contact who can make medical and legal decisions for them and be aware of your rights to remain silent and to not open the door unless a warrant is shown. Family members, Kerzee said, can use ICE’s detainee locator to find the whereabouts of their loved one. Kerzee also said that “lower-risk” individuals should document ICE activity, and report it to the URR hotline at 845-293-3423.