The Johnson City Village Board failed to pass a resolution put forward by Mayor Christina Charuk MAT ‘19 to limit police cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The resolution, presented at a Feb. 3 board meeting, aimed to stop the Johnson City Police Department and all other village employees from questioning, initiating stops, arresting or detaining people with the intent of determining their civil immigration status. It would also prevent local funds and resources from being used to carry out civil immigration investigations or detentions while keeping local police from enforcing ICE requests without a valid warrant or court order issued by a judge.

“Johnson City would benefit from increased trust between residents and local government,” Charuk wrote to Pipe Dream. “The resolution was about clarifying roles — making clear that village resources are focused on local public safety and community wellbeing, not federal civil immigration enforcement. That clarity helps residents feel safer reporting crimes, accessing services, and engaging with local institutions, which ultimately makes the entire village safer and more stable.”

Since none of the village board’s members seconded the resolution, it failed.

In March, Broome County Sheriff Fred Akshar signed a 287(g) agreement with ICE. Under the Warrant Service Officer program, local law enforcement agencies are authorized to “serve and execute administrative warrants on removable aliens in your jail,” according to ICE’s website. A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office has previously told Pipe Dream that the office “does not participate in any active immigration enforcement activities in the community.”

On Jan. 30, Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed a bill to ban all 287(g) agreements in New York. As of Feb. 9, the “Local Cops, Local Crimes Act” had garnered support from 29 county officials statewide, including county executives, district attorneys, sheriffs and police chiefs, including Broome County Executive Jason Garnar ‘99.

At a Dec. 17 meeting, the Binghamton City Council unanimously approved a bill that prohibited city funds from being used toward federal immigration purposes. The bill was sent to Mayor Jared Kraham, who returned the bill without signing or vetoing it. The law went into effect on Dec. 28.

Charuk said that she is still interested in pursuing something similar to the resolution she originally put forward and will continue to work with the Johnson City Chief of Police on the issue.

“I’m always open to continued dialogue and education around this issue,” Charuk wrote. “I think it’s important to keep having thoughtful conversations about how we balance public safety, constitutional protections, and the lived realities of our residents and I encourage the Board to actively listen to that. I’m watching the state legislation closely and hope a statewide resolution is passed.”

None of the four members on the Johnson City Board of Trustees responded to Pipe Dream’s comment request.

In an email to Pipe Dream, Johnson City Police Chief Brent Dodge said he appreciated Mayor Charuk for considering multiple perspectives on the issue while working on the resolution.

“It pains me to see our country so divided over this and other deeply emotional issues like it,” wrote Dodge. “I will say this, I am grateful that the mayor reached out to me early on in this process to listen to my perspective and to what I thought was most important with respect to protecting and serving the residents and visitors of JC in the best way possible.”

“She made a genuine effort to balance both sides of the issue, which is something that is often lacking in higher levels of government these days,” he continued. “Clearly the rest of the board feels like further discussion is warranted. I am very open to being a part of those discussions should they occur in the near future.”