Community members plead with Legislature to stand against ICE

A multitude of people dressed in white gathered at the Suffolk County Legislature Aug. 5 regular meeting at the Riverhead County Center, sharing their thoughts and pleading for elected officials to stand up against the recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions.

The gathering of nearly 50 community members was organized by the Long Island Immigrant Justice Alliance. It comes after a series of raids and detainments on the North Fork in the last few weeks, with two separate events in Greenport. Speaker after speaker approached the microphone during the meeting’s public comment portion, their words filled with emotion and concern.

“You were elected to serve our entire community — all races, all economic brackets, all nationalities and languages — and you have a responsibility to stand up and do something to help alleviate this crisis,” said Cheryl Keshner, one of the organizers. “We need you to stand up for democracy and human rights and to oppose ICE terror. We need you to condemn the violence and bullying, and all efforts to dehumanize our immigrant neighbors. We need you to examine the policies and practices of all county agencies, particularly law enforcement, to ensure there are no resources or personnel being used to support ICE activity.”

Members of the group wore white in remembrance of mothers from Argentina who formed “Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo,” a human rights group created during the 1970s after people began disappearing during the dictatorship rule.

“Immigrants should not have to fear having their homes [entered], to shop, to send their children to school, to get health care or go to work,” said Kevin Shea of Riverhead. “They should not be afraid to call the police or 911 in case of any emergency. When immigrants can’t trust the police, when crimes go unreported, everyone’s safety is at risk. Suffolk County must not collude with ICE. We need full transparency about any cooperation with Homeland Security.”

Speakers came up one after the other for the better part of an hour, reiterating each other’s points, expanding on them and sharing personal beliefs and experiences. Leydy Merced, executive director of Centro Corazón de María in Hampton Bays, spoke of her direct communications with immigrants and their families, and their concerns. Centro Corazón de María is an organization that works to help with immigrants become independent and successful contributors to their communities.

“I come before you today on behalf of the many immigrant families in our communities who are living in fear, not because they’ve done anything wrong, but because their very existence is treated like a crime,” said Ms. Merced. “Our youth, future lawyers, entrepreneurs, business owners, construction workers and health professionals, contributing to our local economy and culture, are being detained and deported because of how they look. We must draw a line between public safety and racialized immigration enforcement.”

Patrick Young, a special professor of law, teaches immigration at Hofstra University. He recently suffered a stroke, but came out anyway to speak his mind because the issue is so important to him. He spoke of the relationship between Suffolk County police and the immigrant community.

“I do want to remind you, during the first half of the 21st century, Suffolk County police had a very bad relationship with the immigrant community,” said Mr. Young. “If you want to build trust, you have to show that you’re enforcing state and local laws, not the immigration laws.”

Over 20 people went up to speak, and those who didn’t were there to show support for each other in numbers. The rally was mostly peaceful, save for the loud rounds of applause and cheers after each member of the group spoke. When the public comment portion was over, a majority of the group, if not all of them, left together as one.

“I know you’re all familiar with MAGA, Make America Great Again, but I’m with a different group. I’m with MATA, Make America Think Again,” said Bill McNulty, a longtime radio host on Stony Brook University’s WUSB station. “That’s why we bring these issues to you, to challenge you to think and to challenge the folks in this room who may not be with us, but to think about the reality of what’s going on.”