Latino and African American elected officials and community leaders gathered Monday night in East Elmhurst to protest what they described as an increase in ICE activity in Queens over the past few weeks and launch a week of bilingual “Know Your Rights” events.
The rally, organized by Assemblywoman Larinda Hooks, took place Aug. 17 in Barclay Triangle in East Elmhurst, a neighborhood with a long history of fighting for civil rights and home to generations of immigrant families, according to Hooks. The official stated that federal immigration authorities have intensified their operations in the area during the last month.
Hooks was accompanied by Assemblywomen Catalina Cruz, Jessica González-Rojas, Alicia Hyndman and Clyde Vanel, as well as Councilwoman Shanel Thomas-Henry. Organizations such as Make the Road NY, the New York Immigration Coalition, the NAACP, Las Doñas and Hands Off NYC also participated.
Hooks said ICE activity increased significantly in July, with 14 arrests reported along Astoria Boulevard and Northern Boulevard, up from two in June.
The protest came a week after residents and community groups gathered at Corona Plaza to denounce a reported increase in immigration operations. Organizers of that rally said armed federal agents had detained people in the area almost every day for weeks prior.
Monday’s attendees accused ICE of targeting people without criminal records and of concentrating its operations in East Elmhurst and nearby neighborhoods because of its significant immigrant population.
“They’re taking anyone,” Hooks said. “These are not just criminals… These are people who work for a living, pay their taxes and have never had contact with the justice system. This is not law enforcement. This is cruelty and it is an abuse of power.”
Participants also urged residents to know their rights in the event of possible encounters with ICE agents and to support their immigrant neighbors.
“We want ICE out of our neighborhoods,” Hooks said. “Let ICE stay away from our schools, from our children.”
Solidarity between communities
The rally also sought to highlight solidarity between East Elmhurst’s African American and Latino communities, which Cruz said have historically been at odds with each other.
“This is a historically Black neighborhood and the Republican Party has historically tried to divide immigrants and Black communities,” Cruz said. “They are going to continue trying to divide us, but we are not going to allow it.”
Hooks accused the federal government of targeting working-class African American and Latino neighborhoods, but assured that the community will remain united.
“The African American and Latino neighborhoods are where they thought no one would make noise, but they were wrong. We are here, we are making noise, we are going to continue doing it and we are going to continue raising our voices,” he said.
González-Rojas asked the state Legislature to pass the New York for All Act, which would prevent local authorities from collaborating with ICE and other federal immigration agencies.
The lawmaker highlighted other measures passed by the state, including the MELT Act, which prohibits ICE agents from wearing masks, and other legislation that restricts their access to sensitive locations, such as schools and shelters, without a court order.
“ICE is acting outside the law,” González-Rojas said. “They’re not following the law. They’re violating mask regulations. They’re going into places they shouldn’t be.”
ICE has not responded to a request for comment.
González-Rojas and Cruz were two of 16 Queens Democrats who last month signed a letter to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer asking them to support their calls to abolish ICE.
Hooks did not sign the letter and said he would have preferred a letter addressed to all Democrats in Congress.
“Everyone is in this fight together. One Democrat alone cannot stop this. That’s why I’m not singling out two people,” he said. “If we’re going to send a letter, we should send it to everyone.”
Hooks also said it is possible to remove ICE from New York without abolishing the agency, as long as local authorities are prevented from collaborating with its agents.
“If everyone stops helping them, I think they will understand that they can’t do anything in this state and they will go find someone else.”
Fear in the community
Other attendees described the fear that, they said, has taken over the immigrant community due to the increase in operations.
Tony Alarcón, interim executive director of Las Doñas, said some residents are “afraid to go out.” He said an immigrant was detained last week outside a laundromat near 85th Street and Northern Boulevard while waiting for his laundry to be finished.
According to Alarcón, the man’s wife later went to the laundromat to look for him and found his clothes abandoned inside a washing machine. He added that security cameras allegedly showed the man having a soft drink outside the establishment when several officers approached and detained him.
“Think about it for a moment: You go to do your laundry. You sit outside, have a drink while you wait, and all of a sudden, they’re gone,” he said.
González-Rojas accused ICE of carrying out “predatory behavior” in the community.
“They are stepping up their efforts. They are surrounding people. They are kidnapping our neighbors without warrants, and we say no. We say: hands off New York,” he said.
Hooks will host a series of bilingual “Know Your Rights” events in Assembly District 35 over the next week to prepare residents for potential encounters with federal immigration authorities. Monday’s protest concluded with a door-to-door tour to inform the community.
