One year ago, black unmarked SUVs started pulling over landscaping trucks and white panel vans on main Island roads. Masked agents wearing padded camo-green vests detained 20 drivers and passengers inside the vehicles, most of whom were Brazilian immigrants. These immigrants were all detained by masked federal agents who told them that they did not provide proof of citizenship status.
Seven months ago, a popular Vineyard restaurant owner from Jamaica named Newton Waite was stopped in his vehicle on Cape Cod near another restaurant he owns and arrested by federal agents, for the civil crime of overstaying his visa. His family reportedly claims the federal agents violated his Fourth Amendment rights, and that following his arrest they were left to search for answers as he was held in detention centers in Louisiana and later in New York.
To most immigration law experts and constitutional lawyers, this process of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stopping vehicles without any warrant constitutes illegal search under the protections affirmed in the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects all on this shared land, not just citizens.
Yesterday, townspeople in Chilmark and their local government representatives were reminded of those ICE raids on the Island last year.
This year, the importance of the Constitution in relation to the aggressive immigration policies of the Trump administration has become even more clear.
The small, quiet town of Chilmark wanted to act in a way that recognized the searing fear the incidents left in the months that followed, especially for immigrants, people of color, and neighbors of Brazilian and Jamaican descent. It is a wave of fear that ripples out far from the Island, to cities like Boston, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Los Angeles, and small towns from coast to coast that experienced ICE raids. At their annual town meeting, Chilmark voters were asked to take action by voting on a designation proposed by the town’s residents themselves.
In a scene Monday night that was straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting, Chilmark became the first Massachusetts town to adopt a designation called “Fourth Amendment Workplace.” The designation encourages local businesses and homeowners to ask for a warrant if federal officials come knocking. More than that, it sends a strong statement to the federal government that the people of Chilmark know their rights and the rights of all people in the U.S., regardless of their immigration status, and recognize when those rights are violated.
In a related petition, Chilmark residents also voted to publicly oppose the use of federal license surveillance to identify cars owned by immigrants, protesters, or anyone whom the government considers a threat. That proposal is related to both the First Amendment right to freedom of expression and the Fourth Amendment, which protects against warrantless searches.
At its core, the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution is a protective right and a defensive tool against the tyranny of a king rather than a weapon to be wielded like a smoke grenade by ICE agents. It was designed by America’s founders to ensure that the land here, far from Britain’s rule, would offer freedom from tyranny. The designation that Chilmark adopted (which Aquinnah and Tisbury will soon consider at their own town meetings) echoes the cause.
“It’s the Island way. We take care of ourselves, and we take care of each other,” Jane Katch said to the crowded room on Monday, as one of the Chilmark residents who proposed and explained the warrant articles.
A resounding “Aye!” reverberated through the Community Center, when residents unanimously agreed to the proposal. The Times, from the non-voting section of the town meeting and the office next to Vineyard Haven marinas, emphatically agrees.
The Fourth Amendment Workplace designation was introduced by a national grassroots organization that formed in the wake of federal immigration enforcement across the country. This year, a local branch of this wider effort formed, called M.V. 4A. It has since amassed over 80 volunteers. The local group’s mission is to educate Islanders, and provide signs for businesses with the slogan “All are welcome here; we know our Fourth Amendment rights,” which are now hanging on the windows of over 20 Vineyard businesses. The signs signal to the local immigrant community that they are seen and protected.
“When we come together, we’re stronger,” Alexis Ladd, co-founder of MV 4A, told The Times. “Our work is turning fear into courage.”
What was perfectly clear under the muted yellow lights in the Chilmark Community Center on Monday night was that Chilmark residents refuse to leave their neighbors to fight alone.
As the Vineyard and the country near the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence from British rule, and the later drafting of the U.S. Constitution, these critical protections must be honored. It’s hard to see all of the actionable impacts that this designation could have just yet, but it does open the door for Islanders to stand up for themselves and their immigrant neighbors. The Fourth Amendment should protect everyone, regardless of immigration status, and we support those who are holding true to that.
In the very back of the Chilmark Community Center, there was a small tryptic that depicted the role of Martha’s Vineyard in the American Revolutionary War effort against the crown. It seemed the perfect reminder that the battle against tyranny and the effort to defend the goals of the Founding Fathers’ writing of the Constitution is still a struggle.
We support the residents of Chilmark and all of the other towns across the Island and across America that are permitting local businesses, public establishments, and town offices to embrace the idea of a Fourth Amendment Workplace.