Considering the role of local police in monitoring federal law enforcement and remembering pioneering criminologist Al Blumstein

Something unusual has been happening recently: Several cities and states have enacted measures to limit federal law enforcement’s actions, potentially leaving local police in an incredibly difficult position. This emerging dynamic—where local agencies must navigate, interpret, or even enforce restrictions directed at federal agencies—creates unprecedented operational, legal, and personal challenges.

Six Massachusetts cities, including Boston, have put orders in place banning federal agencies from staging for civil immigration enforcement actions on city-owned property; requiring city officials to “publicly release video footage of violence or property damage by federal officials;” and affirming that “consistent with its statutory authority and longstanding practice,” police will “investigate all violence, property damage, and allegations of criminal conduct, including by federal officials, and appropriately document such incidents.”
— Read on www.policeforum.org/trending21feb26