Special Meeting of Town Council Will Take Up Social Justice Concerns

A joint meeting of the Amherst Town Council, the Community Safety and Social Justice Committee, and the Human Rights Commission is schedule for Monday, June 8 at 7:30 p.m., to respond to community concerns about a range of social justice issues. The meeting will be held in person in the Town Room of Town Hall and over Zoom.

The first part of the meeting will be in accordance with Section 2.8(c) of the Amherst Town Charter. The Town Manager, and any department head(s) he so chooses, will appear at a special joint meeting between the Town Council, Community Safety and Social Justice Committee, and Human Rights Commission, to answer questions and provide more detail on the statements and action items included in the Executive Order issued by the town manager’s office on March 3, 2026 as it relates to the interaction between town staff and federal immigration agents.

As tensions continue to grow nationally and locally around the actions of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), this portion of the meeting will hopefully provide more clarity as to how Amherst departments, especially the police, will respond when federal immigration agents (including ICE) are in town.

The second part of the meeting will be in accordance with Section 2.8 (b) of the Amherst Town Charter. The Community Safety and Social Justice Committee will appear before the Town Council to give information regarding progress on the Community Safety Working Group recommendations and Immigrant protection efforts.

The last meeting between the Community Safety and Social Justice Committee and the Town Council occurred in November 2025. This will serve as a status update. The committee has provided four formal letters to the town manager and town council (see below) since November, regarding budget priorities and policy priorities related to CRESS and Resident Oversight Board.

Read More

• CRESS Funding Request
• CSSJC Budget Priorities 2025
• CSSJC Budget Request FY27
• CSSJC Memo to the Town Council: Questions in Advance of the June 8 Meeting, Including Concerns About the Town Manager’s Executive Order
• CSSJC Power Point on the Status of the Community Safety Working Group Recommendations
• Resident Oversight Board – Letter to the Government, Organization and Legislation Committee