Harrietstown Town Hall in Saranac Lake. Photo courtesy of Saranac Lake website.
David EscobarFears over immigration enforcement spark debate in Saranac Lake
When Saranac Lake Village Trustee Aurora White proposed a resolution in February, she said it was in response to a concern she had not seen before: immigrants living in her community were suddenly afraid to leave their homes.
She said some residents told her they were being harassed by other locals—sometimes falsely—about their immigration status. Even those with legal status or work visas, she said, feared what might happen if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ever carried out a raid in the village.
“These are members of our community who have lived here for years,” White said. “We’ve never asked them about their citizenship status. We’ve never had cause to. They’re contributing members of our community, and they were afraid to do normal day-to-day activities.”
Those concerns set off months of debate over how the village should handle immigration enforcement—and what role, if any, local police should play.
A proposal meets resistance
White first introduced a resolution called “Safeguarding Our Residents and Our Financial Resources” to the Saranac Lake Village Board in February. The original bill explicitly outlined a set of policies that would have barred the village police department from using officers or money to assist federal immigration enforcement. Since village police do not currently coordinate with ICE, White said the measure was meant to proactively block future cooperation and keep local policing focused on local needs.
“It was not a political ploy,” White said, “but [I was] really just worried about our community and the funds that we allocate to the police force.”
At a village board meeting where White proposed the resolution, it drew immediate pushback. Mayor Jimmy Williams and other critics argued that Saranac Lake should not wade into national political debates.
“While we do have a tumultuous political picture outside Saranac Lake,” Williams said at the meeting, “my responsibility, and everybody on this board, is to Saranac Lake.”
Williams also warned that the legislation could put the village’s federal grant funding at risk. He did not respond to interview requests for this story.
Federal spending records show that Saranac Lake and local institutions have received millions of dollars in federal grants over the past five years, largely for infrastructure projects. Last year, the village secured a $4.5 million federal grant for its proposed emergency services building, a project estimated to cost close to $30 million.
In a board meeting on Feb. 10, 2025, Saranac Lake Village trustees debate a resolution called “Safeguarding Our Residents and Our Financial Resources.”
A scaled-back version passes
White’s original proposal failed in a 3-2 vote. Trustees spent the spring and summer negotiating revisions, ultimately settling on a pared-down version that removed all references to limiting cooperation with ICE.
The resolution that passed in September states that the village opposes hate and discrimination and affirms equal access to public safety regardless of immigration status.
White, who voted against the final resolution alongside Mayor Williams, said it no longer resembled what she had set out to do.
“It’s essentially empty words,” she said.
Police: Not our role
Saranac Lake Police Chief Darin Perrotte said the final resolution largely reiterates policies already in place.
“Many people would be surprised to know that there are already policies in place that dictate that we’re going to provide fair and unbiased policing,” Perrotte said. “So this is not a new concept at all.”
Perrotte, who met with White in the early drafting process, said he recognizes the public’s desire for the village to take a stronger stance to reassure immigrant residents, but he also understands why some felt the proposal could paint a target on Saranac Lake with President Donald Trump’s administration.
Perrotte, who has served as police chief since 2022, said immigration enforcement is not part of his department’s responsibilities.
“On an everyday basis, we’re not questioning people about their immigration status,” he said. “It just doesn’t pertain to our enforcement of the penal law.”
ICE is not required to notify local jurisdictions of planned operations. When the agency raided a wood mill in Tupper Lake earlier this year, Perrotte said local police had no role in the operation.
If ICE ever did ask for the village’s assistance, he said, officers would offer the same limited support they provide any outside agency—confirming an address or responding to a report of violence. Perrotte said he does not expect that request to come and wants his department focused on local work.
“We’re tasked with patrolling and serving the citizens of the village of Saranac Lake,” he said. “We’re plenty busy doing that.”
Residents remain uneasy
Without a comprehensive immigration policy on the books, some residents say the scaled-back resolution leaves fears unaddressed for immigrants living in the village. Though immigrants make up less than one percent of Saranac Lake’s population, their work under seasonal federal visas drives the hospitality industry around the region.
Village resident Steve Erman said stepped-up immigration enforcement could disrupt that workforce.
“If people are afraid to show up for jobs, or people are on jobs and they end up being swept up, they’re detained, taken in, possibly for deportation,” he said. “And what pain that can cause for those families, but also the pain that can cause for entrepreneurs.”
Others worry the climate of fear could jeopardize public safety by deterring people from calling for help. Rich Loeber, who supported White’s original proposal, said some immigrants already hesitate to contact emergency services.
“If they had a fire in their house, they would be hesitant to call the fire department,” he said. “If there was a burglary, they would be hesitant to call the police department. That situation exists now in the village, and it shouldn’t be that way.”
For White, the well-being of all residents remains her top-line concern. She said trust between the community and local law enforcement is fragile and that immigrant residents deserve clarity about how the village intends to protect them.
“I think they deserve to know that we’re committed to each other,” she said. “And that the Saranac Lake Village Police Department can be trusted, just like they always have.”
David Escobar is a Report For America Corps Member. He reports on diversity issues in the Adirondacks through a partnership between North Country Public Radio and Adirondack Explorer.