The Goshen Police Department has updated its immigration enforcement policy to comply with a new state law, despite concerns from some local leaders who say the change doesn’t reflect the city’s values.
The update aligns with Public Law 121, which requires officers who arrest someone for a crime to notify jail staff if they believe that person may be in the country illegally. The law also directs county sheriffs to report those cases to federal authorities.
Goshen City Councilwoman Linda Gerber spoke against the change before the city’s Board of Works vote.
“As an elected official I want to share my concerns about the language being added as a result of Public Law 121,” Gerber said. “This law does not reflect what is just, or what is good policy for Goshen.”
She said the measure was passed at the state level without real consideration of local voices.
“Members of the immigrant community, our mayor’s office, local businesses and other stakeholders tried to make their voices heard to lawmakers,” she said, “but the law was passed without real consideration of their input.”
Speaking with WVPE, Gerber said community members, including city officials, business owners and advocates, had pushed back against the legislation during the last session.
“There were a lot of individuals advocating on behalf of the immigrant community, and our local business owners were involved as well,” Gerber said. “They were pushing back, saying this doesn’t reflect our values and isn’t in the best interest of our community.”
Gerber said the police department’s policy update was a required step to stay in compliance with the new law, but she wanted to make her opposition to the state policy clear.
“They were simply doing what the state law required them to do,” she said. “I just wanted to voice my opposition to what the state legislature had done and say that it does not reflect our community’s values.”
The updated policy takes effect this week.
