04/06/2017
Town Policy on Immigrants in Easton, Maryland (April 2017)
The Town of Easton believes a more diverse community is a stronger, more vibrant community, and is committed to treating all of its residents, including those who identify as immigrants, in a fair and just manner. Through its commitment to social justice and inclusion, one of Easton’s most important objectives is to enhance relationships with all residents, including immigrants, and to make all residents, workers and visitors feel safe and secure regardless of immigration status. Toward that end, the Town of Easton supports organizations like the Chesapeake Multi-Cultural Resource Center, whose mission is to strengthen immigrant families and to use all available resources to more fully integrate our immigrant residents into our community.
Further, the Town of Easton believes that the Easton Police Department should be focused on the safety and security of all of the Town residents regardless of immigration status. It is not the function or mission of the Easton Police Department to enforce federal immigration laws. The Easton Police Department will not check the citizenship status of individuals with whom they interact or are witnesses to crimes. The Easton Police Department has operated in this manner for many years and will continue to do so.
Easton Police Officers will continue to work in good faith with its federal law enforcement partners to apprehend criminals, especially those that commit serious or violent crimes, regardless of their immigration status. The Easton Police Department remains committed to upholding the laws it is empowered to enforce and to uphold the constitutions of the United States of America and the State of Maryland while recognizing it is not an authorized agent of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE).
The Town of Easton will continue to honor all valid and enforceable duties and obligations imposed by a court order or any valid federal or applicable law. But in the absence of such a court order or law, Easton will not use its funds, resources, facilities, property, equipment, or personnel to assist in the enforcement of federal civil immigration law or to gather information regarding the citizenship or immigration status of any person. Easton recognizes that it is a part of a country born of immigrants and will continue to support efforts that assist our immigrant population in becoming fully-vested citizens of our community.