NORWICH — The Norwich Selectboard has agreed on an enhanced immigrant policing policy, becoming the third Upper Valley community to adopt similar measures to protect undocumented people in the past two months.

The board approved the enhanced Fair and Impartial Policing Policy in a 4-1 vote after a lengthy debate Wednesday evening, with only Selectboard member Mary Layton voting against it.

The measure amends the town’s existing policing policy by barring officers from inquiring about a person’s immigration status, detaining them for their immigration status or sharing immigration information with federal authorities.

Voters showed their approval in a 1,346-296 vote at Town Meeting last month.

It’s also similar to “welcoming” ordinances approved by voters in Hartford and Lebanon and under consideration in Hanover.

Norwich’s debate Wednesday centered largely on the legality of the policy change.

Some worried it violates a federal law that says police must share immigration information with federal authorities.

Supporters of Norwich’s policy change and surrounding towns’ “welcoming” ordinances have argued that the federal law itself is in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Norwich Police Chief Jennifer Frank, who raised many of the concerns at the Selectboard meeting, opposed the measure on several grounds Wednesday, including that police swore an oath to uphold the law.

“The primary issue we have is you’re asking officers to violate that federal oath,” she said, adding that Norwich police haven’t shared information with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement in at least 10 years.

She said the public should trust police not to work with ICE, but also shouldn’t restrict them from doing so.

“At some point, there’s an element of trusting in the officers to do the right thing,” she said.

Her words were echoed by Layton, who called the policy change “unfair” for pushing officers to violate a federal law.

She also said it might not be entirely necessary.

“It’s not going to do enough good to really fight for it. I think we have enough in place to protect people,” she said.

But others, like Selectboard member John Langus, disagreed. He argued that police are supposed to uphold the Constitution, and that it’s not the federal government’s place to ask local police to “do their job for them.”

“Police officers swear an oath to the constitutions of the state of Vermont and the United States of America. They do not swear an oath to the federal law,” he said at the meeting.

The issue of whether the policy violates federal law has been a key point of debate in Hartford and Hanover during their own discussions about their “welcoming” ordinances.

Prior to the public vote in Hartford, Town Manager Brannon Godfrey proposed adding a “savings clause” to the ordinance that would explicitly state it does not restrict police from sending information to federal authorities. However, Hartford Selectboard members declined to include the clause, and the ordinance passed both a public vote and Selectboard vote without it.

Earlier this week, Hanover Selectboard members grappled with a similar question when considering whether to include a line in their ordinance saying police are not required to violate federal law.

Following a heated debate Monday night, Hanover’s board decided to table a vote on the measure.

However, the potential conflict with federal law wasn’t the only concern raised at Norwich’s meeting Wednesday.

Frank also argued that the town cannot write policies for the police department — something that Selectboard member Roger Arnold disagreed with.

“The police department is an agency of the town,” he said. “Implicit in the state law is the authorization for towns to require their police to enhance (their policy).”

Town Manager Herb Durfee also wondered whether the entire vote should be postponed due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus.

He said the virus has put a strain on police who are forced to break social distancing rules in order to do their job.

“I just worry if this is the right time,” he said.

But Arnold argued that many people outside the police department are also affected by the outbreak of the virus, including members of the undocumented community who fear seeking medical care due to their citizenship status.

Juan Quinonez Zepeda, a Dartmouth College student and member of the Coalition For Immigration Reform and Equality at Dartmouth, said that it’s a necessary time to put the enhanced policy into place.

He argued that many undocumented people — especially those in agriculture — are deemed essential workers and have to continue to go to work every day, despite feeling unsafe due to their citizenship status and the virus.

“Now, more than ever, it’s crucial to do this,” he said.

Anna Merriman can be reached at amerriman@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.