SOUTH SALEM, N.Y. - A resolution regarding police cooperation with federal immigration authorities wasn’t the only subject on the agenda for the Lewisboro Town Board’s Feb. 9 meeting. Yet, the resolution introduced by Councilwoman Julia Hadlock sparked the most attention among Lewisboro residents and the Board itself.
Most of the residents who spoke at the meeting suggested that concern about immigration and enforcement is misplaced in Lewisboro, where both are virtually nonexistent. Local attorney and former councilwoman Andrea Rendo also called the resolution an insult to both Lewisboro’s police chief and the entire police department.
“Has there been some immigration issue in the town that we're not aware of? Have our officers not done their jobs properly?” asked Rendo, who lost her seat on the Town Board in November. “My recommendation is that you all focus your energy on the day-to-day workings of the town and stay in your lane by doing the job that you are actually elected to do.”
Rendo said that more appropriate items for the Board would be the location of a new cell tower, zoning for battery storage and solar farms, Oakridge water issues, a proposed zoning code for land excavation and fill, updating the town’s tree ordinance, and the best way to keep the Highway Department fully equipped.
Craig Carroll, a retired county police lieutenant who lives in South Salem, said it was offensive to suggest that local police need a reminder about constitutional law enforcement. “Our police don't need a resolution telling them to follow the Constitution,” Carroll said. “I would respectfully ask supporters of this measure to provide one concrete example that makes this relevant here today. Without that, this feels more like political messaging than responsible local governance. Meanwhile, our town has real priorities – infrastructure, fiscal responsibility, and ensuring that our officers have a safe, modern facility to do their jobs effectively.”
LaTeasha Stapleton of Goldens Bridge was supportive of the resolution and suggested that minorities have a different perspective on interactions with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) than their white neighbors do.
“I want to thank you Julia for bringing it up,” Stapleton said. “We're not saying that there's a problem, but let's just address it so that there won't be. The [Federal] administration is not following the constitution.”
Councilwoman Hadlock, the Town Board’s newest member, noted that she had met with Police Chief David Alfano the previous Friday to discuss the department’s priorities.
“Vehicles were top of his list,” Hadlock said. “We talked about this [resolution] and the fact that I had introduced it. He feels very strongly about the oath he took and he specifically said, ‘I have no problem with this resolution, and you can share that with your board colleagues.’ So, my goal here is to clarify this and to support all of our police officers in upholding the laws that they have sworn to us.”
“What do you think is unclear that needs to be clarified by a resolution like this?” Councilman Rich Sklarin asked Hadlock, noting that all Town Board members also serve as police commissioners. “These people [police] are sworn peace officers who have taken an oath specifically to uphold federal, state, and local laws. So, we're making a statement essentially undermining the public confidence that we [residents] have in the Lewisboro Police Department.”
Hadlock responded that the resolution’s goal was not to undermine the police but instead to reassure them that, should there be a conflict between people in town and ICE, the town would have their back.
“I think that when other agencies enter a municipality, there are times where the pressures of those other agencies may create confusion,” Hadlock said. “It's important for us to support our local police – to be able to uphold their oaths when it may be in defiance of things that are coming against them from federal agencies.”
Councilman Dan Welsh spoke in favor of the resolution.
“First of all, the comments about doing the town's work and not this…we can walk and chew gum at the same time,” Welsh said. “It's not about criticizing the police department. It is rather about all the stuff that's going on now around the nation and in our county. The [resolution’s] focus is on due process and we as a town are simply saying that we see this going on, we want to step up and add our voices and reaffirm that these are basic rights that we should be respecting.”
Deputy Town Supervisor Mary Shah noted that Westchester County also has an immigration-protection act, which the county legislature passed in 2018.
“So, there are already county and state guidance and frameworks legally set up,” Shah said. “My first reaction when I read this [resolution] was, Chief Alfano has been a big proponent and advocate for community policing, and he's done a stellar job of protecting our community and upholding the laws of the town, of the county, and the state. Do we really need this?”
“If ICE was actually following the laws we could do without any of this,” said Welsh in response.
Shah brought up an additional concern.
“By bringing up immigration and customs enforcement and putting a proclamation out, it could for all intents and purposes put a bullseye on the town of Lewisboro,” she remarked.
“Of all the municipalities in Westchester, we probably have the least to worry about in terms of being a bullseye – and I think the least we can do is recognize that elsewhere in Westchester this is a very real issue,” said Welsh. I'm open to modifying it until we get comfortable with something.”
The meeting’s agenda called just for the resolution to be discussed, and accordingly the Board did not vote on it.
Among other business, the Board set a public hearing for March 23 on a proposed set of regulations for short-term rentals. It also passed the following resolutions:
The appointment of Teresa Longyear to the Landmarks Advisory Committee for a term expiring December 31, 2027
The appointment of Pia Dorson to the Advisory Committee for the Disabled for a term expiring December 31, 2028
Authorizing the town supervisor to sign an agreement with KSCJ Consulting for the MS4 municipal interim progress certifications and annual reports, as part of the 2026 Stormwater Management Program. It also authorized the supervisor to sign an additional agreement with KCSJ governing illicit discharge for the year under the same program.
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