To the Editor,

At the Village Board meeting on April 3, the Village’s statement on its immigration policy was read. The statement came together over many days from an initial draft statement that was circulated among Board members. Comments and suggestions were made to it.
The final statement evolved from initially being primarily an endorsement of the Croton Police Department policy regarding immigration and law enforcement, to becoming an actual statement of policy for the entire Village government. Although the statement reiterates the Village’s November statement of Inclusion and states that the Village will have an open dialogue with its residents, I was disappointed that it did not go further.
In my opinion a policy statement should include some at least mildly proactive words about implementation. I had lobbied for inclusion of a sentence in earlier drafts that the Village would make a “concerted attempt to improve communication with its minority ethnic groups….”. As mild as that statement is, it would have still provided the basis for some outreach steps in the days and months ahead. I hope the Village’s statement is not the end of our actions in this regard and that such outreach steps will be taken.

Ann Gallelli