As Anti-Bias Task Force objects, Town Board members stand by statements
Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) couldn’t be reached for comment. In the past, he had voiced opposition to the proposed federal DREAM Act, which would give some undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship.
Ms. Lassandro said she also supports holding those accused of criminal offenses, like robbery or assault, and was in favor of the police department’s current policies. Riverhead cops, she said, are doing it right.
“If they’re a criminal, legal [immigrant] or illegal, they should be detained,” she said.
But it’s the federal government’s responsibility to enforce immigration laws, Ms. Lassandro said.
She was concerned that a change in town policy could impact relationships with the legal immigrants in town.
“Riverhead is a melting pot,” she said. “We have many, many nationalities here. We’re trying to bring good feelings and harmony to the community.”
She adding the board members’ statements could encourage undocumented immigrants to avoid cooperating with authorities.
Mr. Gabrielsen later replied that he didn’t see how his view could affect that effort.
“Show me how law and order can hurt her conversation,” he said. “How is this message of law and order a bad message?”
Since Ms. Lassandro spoke before the Town Board Tuesday, no board member has contacted her, she said.
The board had unanimously approved jumpstarting the Anti-Bias Task Force last year in the wake of a series of assaults and robberies that largely targeted Hispanic and homeless people.
The task force, which had gone quiet for nearly a decade, was created to consider the “destructive effects of prejudice and racism” among communities in town, according to its mission statement.
Sister Margaret Smyth of the North Fork Spanish Apostolate, a member of the task force, said she was also discouraged by the comments.
“Crossing the border is the illegal action,” she said. “Now that they’re here, we don’t have the right to abuse them as a human being.”
Ms. Smyth, who helps undocumented immigrants get legal status, pay taxes and get medical assistance, said reports of gang activity in Riverhead are overblown. She believes the reported Hispanic gangs are “gang wannabes” and a select few with drinking problems generally fight amongst themselves.
That assessment stands in sharp contrast to reports from the county police’s anti-gang unit, which said Hispanic gangs are becoming more prevalent across Suffolk County.
In an interview with The Suffolk Times last October following Hispanic gang-related shootings in Riverhead and Southold, Sgt. Steven Lundquist with the Gang Intelligence Unit of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office said gangs are moving further east to escape detection by police in towns farther west.
On Friday, Mr. Dunleavy — who serves as the liaison to the Anti-Bias Task Force — stood by his statements, saying he was concerned with the safety of Riverhead’s residents. He said he’s worked with the town’s Hispanic community before, handing out lunches near the railroad station.
“We don’t stop cars, we don’t ask for paperwork,” he continued. “I don’t want to be another San Francisco.”
Mr. Dunleavy said his comments were not inappropriate because he was not biased and was not talking about only Spanish-speaking immigrants when he made his remarks. He was more bothered by an online list generated by the Ohio Jobs & Justice PAC, a group that calls for stricter immigration enforcement that cites Riverhead Town as a so-called “sanctuary city” for illegal immigrants.
According to the group, the list was created in 2007 and includes towns and cities that have “unwritten” rules that allegedly protect undocumented immigrants.
“A local government’s … interaction with illegal aliens can evidence an unwritten sanctuary policy,” the group writes. Choosing to release suspected illegal immigrants who aren’t wanted on a warrant is one such interaction, according to the group.
Mr. Dunleavy said the Town Board never claimed the town was a sanctuary city. He’s trying to get the town removed from the list because he doesn’t want undocumented immigrants flocking to the town “thinking they can get away with anything.”
“We don’t know how legitimate this list is,” Mr. Dunleavy said. “I just want to be taken off the Internet.”
But Mr. Walter said the authenticity of the list some are fretting over is being blown out of context.
“We’re giving this guy way more ink than he’s worth,” he said of the group that published the list. “We’re no more a sanctuary city than any other city in the country.”
Ms. Giglio couldn’t be reached for comment.
Photo credits: Barbaraellen Koch, file
