With a nearly unanimous vote at Monday’s town meeting, the Town of Amherst decided to opt out of the controversial Se Communities Program. Se Communities is a program designed by the Department of Homeland Security to crack down on illegal immigrants who commit crimes, as well as those who continually violate immigration laws. By passing Article 29, Amherst residents chose not to participate. Through the resolution, community members said that they wanted to make sure local law enforcement agencies could not stop anyone randomly just to check their immigration status. Amherst’s resolution specifically states, “Municipal employees of the Town of Amherst, including law enforcement employees, shall not monitor, stop, detain, question, interrogate or search a person for the purpose of determining that individual’s immigration status.”
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