Has the increase in ICE operations in New York that Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s border czar, had announced, already begun? Pro-immigrant activists believe so.
Between Thursday and Friday of last week, residents and organizations reported an unusual increase in the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in the city’s five boroughs and on Long Island. Videos quickly spread on social media show officers wearing bulletproof vests and covering their faces—a practice that activists say violates state law—as they detain people, conduct operations, and confront those documenting or protesting their presence.
On July 30, witnesses observed large groups of masked officers in Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn, a larger presence than previously reported.
In Bushwick, Brooklyn, several agents questioned a family traveling in a minivan and checked the passports of all its members, including that of a minor. According to reports, the family was not detained.
That same day, the presence of ICE agents was also reported in East Elmhurst and Inwood. At the intersection of Seaman and Isham avenues in Inwood, a camera captured an incident that sparked outrage. In the video, a hooded federal agent approaches a woman who was recording the operation with her cell phone while holding what appeared to be a canister of military-grade pepper spray.
According to the images, the agent sprayed the gas directly in his face without any apparent justification.
Councilwoman Carmen De La Rosa immediately condemned the presence of federal agents in the community.
“It is unacceptable that ICE is present in our community without court orders, simply walking near our parks, our children and our families in an immigrant community,” De La Rosa said in a video posted on his Instagram account. “It is our responsibility to speak out for our neighbors, who right now cannot do so for themselves.”
On Friday morning, shortly before 10:00 am, another large group of ICE agents was seen in East Elmhurst. Sources familiar with the operations reported that one person was detained during that operation.
The same sources assured that ICE has intensified its activities in neighborhoods where operations were not frequently reported previously, including Inwood and College Point. They also indicated that officers appear to be making a greater number of arrests during vehicle inspections.
The New York Immigration Coalition also issued an alert about the increase in activity by immigration authorities and warned that it “expects this trend to continue and even increase.”
The reported increase occurs as concern grows over the elimination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for thousands of Haitians in New York and after Homan promised to reinforce the presence of ICE agents in the city.
A spokesperson for NYC ICE Watch, an organization that monitors ICE activity in the city, stated that this increase represents the beginning of the deployment announced by Homan.
«We have heard Tom Homan’s threats and also the rumors. Thursday seemed to be the day that ICE kidnappings really started to increase. Yes, we are definitely seeing an increase in ICE activity,” the spokesperson said. “The agents have used pepper spray against neighbors who witnessed these kidnappings and, if these operations continue to increase in the city, the violence will also increase, unless someone stops them.”
After the incidents recorded on Thursday and Friday, community organizations called several protests for last Saturday in Brooklyn and Inwood.
