In “Hampshire County sheriff: Not heeding ICE detainer requests is the law” [Dec. 18], Sheriff Patrick Cahillane underestimates his office’s authority to protect immigrants from federal immigration enforcement under the impending Trump administration.

While the sheriff correctly observes Massachusetts law that prohibits holding individuals based on ICE detainers alone, he simultaneously pledges to continue to provide ICE with individuals’ release dates, court appearances, and other information relevant to immigration enforcement. Sheriff Cahillane appears to frame this cooperation as his legal obligation. However, local law enforcement’s decision to share information in response to an ICE request is fully voluntary.

Across the country, many jurisdictions have stopped all forms of voluntary cooperation with ICE, recognizing that entanglement between local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement erodes community trust and public safety.

When local law enforcement notifies ICE about someone’s release date, they enable ICE to conduct courthouse and jail arrests of individuals who have already been deemed eligible for release. Such arrests significantly reduce an individual’s odds of resolving charges against them, with devastating impacts on their eligibility for immigration relief.

Families are left to shoulder the immense legal, financial, and emotional costs of their loved one’s disappearance, often with minimal support. The sheriff can make good on his intention to build trust and protect immigrants by ending all forms of voluntary cooperation with ICE. Anything less will continue to enable a deportation machine that destroys lives and families, weakening the fabric of our communities.

Leah Hastings

Attorney, Immigrant Detention Conditions Project, Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts, Boston