Hundreds of inhabitants of Long Island congregated in the Suffolk Avenue, at the corner of Brentwood Parkway, in a demonstration against immigrants’ raids by the Immigration and Customs Control Service (ICE) in its communities.
The manifestation “we keep our united families” (“Keep Our Families Together Rally”) held on Sunday afternoon, was organized by the Islip Forward Organization, a community group that empowers residents through defense and civic participation to demand protection for immigrant families, as well as accountability and transparency by the Government.
The vice president of the New York State Assembly, Phil Ramos (Brentwood Democrat); the founder of Islip Forward, Ahmad Pérez; and Pilar Moya, from Latinos United Long Island, along with other speakers, went to the crowd at a press conference.
«This is not democracy. This is not security. This is fascism, ”Ramos said about the fear of community members to go to work or enter a court for fear of being arrested for ICE.
Ramos spoke about the stories of two brothers from Central Islip, José and Josué Trejos, who, as reported, were deported despite having open requests for special immigration protection. Ramos also talked about a Brentwood mother who was recently arrested for ICE.
“He didn’t hide. He was working. He was raising five beautiful children,” said Ramos. “Now, those five children cry until they fall asleep every night, crying for their mother’s love, not knowing if they will ever see her again.”
For its part, Moya urged local elected officials and governor Kathy Hochul to initiate independent investigations on the fire departments suspected of cooperating with ICE, prohibiting agencies requesting information on immigration status and supporting the law “New York for All (New York for all”), which would prohibit the local and state police New York civilians.
Pérez, founder of Islip Forward, has also launched an ICE monitoring application with its organization – which already has 60,000 users – that notifies users about ICE’s activity in their communities and helps them to know their rights.
“To date, we have identified 33 verified sightings of ICE agents in Suffolk County,” Pérez said. “We have seen them arrive early in the morning before classes, just when people are having breakfast, and we are fed up with that.”
These ICE sightings in Suffolk have been a main motivation for many manifestation attendees. Jalline Guevara, a 17 -year -old girl who attended the protest and director of Brentwood Votes, says that ICE was sighted to a couple of streets of her house, and that the people of the community have been living with fear because of it.
Guevara believes that President Donald Trump is a dictator who does not understand the people affected by ICE. “(Trump) Ve statistics,” he said. “See numbers, see files, but do not see families.”
Guevara is based on his personal experience, since his mother took more than 15 years to obtain the residence, and his father is still undocumented.
“He lives with fear every day, wondering when ICE will take him, and that is a kind of fear with which no child should live,” said Guevara. For her it was important to attend and talk in the demonstration to defend her parents, who traveled to the United States to give her her brothers a better opportunity.
Kelly G, 27 -year -old Brentwood resident, security worker and demonstration assistant, who asked that his full name for privacy reasons not be published, the same believes.
“My parents have fought for my future,” Kelly said. “They went through a lot to get here and give me a better future. So I will always do my best to make sure that their future is also safe.”
Larissa Escobar, a 19 -year -old student at Miller Place, attended the protest for similar reasons. She believes that ICE sightings in Long Island are terrifying and thinks that local senators and representatives do not even try to help affected communities.
On a personal level, Escobar’s father has lived in the United States for 21 years and has not been able to obtain a legal status under the administration of President Trump, despite paying for legal services. “I am enraged,” said Escobar. “He did everything correctly, he tried to get here correctly … and yet he couldn’t get the papers.”
Bay Shore’s sisters, Amanda Vesey-Askey, 58, who works for a non-profit organization of medical care, and Sharon Masrour, a 61-year-old university professor, attended the demonstration to defend what they consider correct.
“We have the vision of a nation whose policies are based on justice and love, instead of hatred and discrimination,” said Mason. “And we want to raise our families in such a society.”
Vesey-Askey, mother and grandmother, wants those who think they support the “rule of law” (“The Rule of Law”) know that it is not true, since ICE is denying human rights to people.
“We are in a quick slope towards fascism, and we must raise our voice now, before it is too late,” he said. “We need to preserve our democracy, and that will not happen without people standing.”
