Mayor Joseph Curtatone signed an executive order last week directing Somerville police to not detain illegal immigrants after they have already posted bail or been ordered released by the courts. The order was issued in response to the federal Secure Communities program, which asks cities and towns to hold such immigrants for processing by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). But the order also reflected a policy already in place within the Somerville Police Department for several years, so it was more of a symbolic gesture than a change in day-to-day practices.

Actions such as the executive order and similar laws passed in other parts of the country, according to proponents, will improve law enforcement’s relationship with immigrant communities, allowing police to gain the trust – and therefore obtain critical information during investigations of crimes – of people who might otherwise not come forward for fear of having their status checked. How willing illegal immigrants are to take police at their word remains to be seen, and it will be interesting to hear from officers on the ground in a year or so whether the order had its desired effect in that area.

Supporters of Secure Communities note that illegal immigrants should be detained regardless of whether they have committed any other arrestable offense because they are here illegally. People like Curtatone who disagree sidestep that particular argument by replacing “illegal” with the more bureaucratic-sounding “undocumented.”

While immigration has become a clearly partisan issue, there are arguments to be made from a conservative standpoint as to why the Secure Communities program should be curtailed, not the least of which are constitutional concerns about unreasonable searches. In addition, there is the issue of asking local law enforcement to use its time and resources to do the work of a federal agency without just compensation.

In Somerville, at least, little is likely to change since the order itself does little to change what is already in effect. It did grab headlines, though, and that is something certainly not lost on some members of the city’s political community.