In response to the increase in arrests of the Customs Imigration and Control Service (ICE) in Long Island, the OLA of Eastern Long Island organization has launched a quick response action plan, known as “Operation Defendee and Protectes” (“Operation Stand and Protect”), so that members of the Immigrant Community of the EAST ED that are victims of ICE agents have access to an active group of local volunteers Ready to witness, participate and act quickly and peacefully to document ICE activities.
OLA will train rapid response volunteers on how to safely and peacefully witness ICE activities in real time. This allows OLA to monitor ICE interactions with members of the immigrant community, document violations of rights and monitor the types of “sweep”, ragged and arrests that occur in the EAST END of Long Island.
It also allows Ola to verify which police entities participate in the actions of ICE, whether local, state or federal agencies. Volunteers will also receive training on how to ensure that immigrants know their rights during ICE interactions.
Terror regime
«For many here in the East End, summer has practically canceled. The terror regime unleashed by the current presidential administration has affected Long Island and is directed to the east, ”said Ola’s executive director, Minerva Pérez.
«We saw it in the summer of 2017 during Trump’s first government. We are already seeing ICE activity plus west, and we know for bitter experience that ICE raids will come here soon, ”he warns.
Under the direction of Pérez, the Defense, Mental Health and Migratory Law teams prepare to address the increase in ICE raids, often carried out by masked agents that resemble the same militias that force many members of the community to flee their countries of origin.
These officers, with and without a mask, who often refuse to identify their agencies, have been touring the streets of the western New York county of Suffolk in nearby villages, arresting and indiscriminately taking members of the immigrant community.
“What ICE does not only generates fear for their own security and that of their families, but also affects the way in which community members perceive and interact with the police and local government,” said Erika Padilla, Ola Legal Defender.
“I know people who fear going to the courts of justice of our municipality for fear that Ice arrests them, separating them from their children and sports.”
They look for volunteers
Padilla reports that he receives calls 7 days after the week of people who feel traumatized and distressed due to the chaotic and unpredictable nature of current ICE operations.
She and other staff members of Ola of Eastern Long Island attend these calls explaining their rights and providing relevant information.
Ola invites interested volunteers to complete this brief Google form to inform Ola if they are ready and willing to receive training and notifications on incidents in which their physical presence could have a decisive impact on the interaction of a member of the immigrant community with ICE: Tinyurl.com/olarapidSr .
