UPDATE: Armed, uniformed individuals seen outside Riverhead men’s homeless shelter not ICE, town officials say

A video is circulating on social media of a group of uniformed, armed men outside of the Community Housing Innovation complex at 629 W Main St. in Riverhead.

Local news outlets reported the men approached the homeless shelter early Tuesday morning, wearing vests that read “U.S. Marshal.” The individuals, who were allegedly looking for someone at the shelter, reportedly did not identify themselves or present any credentials, and did not present a search warrant when asked for entry, according to RiverheadLocal.

After receiving overwhelming concern from the community about the possibility these unidentified individuals were federal agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Riverhead Town Supervisor cleared the air at a town board work session on Thursday morning.

“It was a team that was not ICE, but nobody clarified who it actually was,” Mr. Hubbard said. “It was, in fact, the U.S. Marshal’s Office, trying to effect their warrant…I verified that yesterday, they were just trying to effect a warrant that they have for an individual.”

Nicole Falkman, senior vice president of housing at Community Housing Innovation, said there were no reports of ICE and declined to comment further on the matter. ICE’s New York City Field Office could not be reached to confirm if agents were sent to Riverhead.

Riverhead Police Department Chief Ed Frost could not be reached at press time. Southold Police Department Chief Steven Grattan said there were no reports of ICE activity in Southold Town on Tuesday. He added that in the past, ICE has not notified the police department of its activities and said he does “not anticipate” receiving any prior notice in the future.

Minerva Perez, OLA Eastern Long Island executive director, said in response to the increase of alleged ICE activity happening on Long Island, the organization launched a rapid response action plan called Operation Stand and Protect to aid East End neighbors who may “fall prey to ICE agents.”

“I saw some of those videos as well. That does look like some agency is there — it’s hard to tell what agency it is,” Ms. Perez said.

OLA is in the process of setting up a 24-hour hotline at 631-500-5001 for people who are in need of assistance. Interested volunteers who want to get involved in OLA’s rapid response initiative are encouraged to fill out a short google form here: tinyurl.com/OLARapidResponse.

This is a developing story.