Group: Curran should stop 'flip-flopping' on ICE presence at Nassau County jail

A coalition including Republican lawmakers and law enforcement officials  called on Nassau County Executive Laura Curran to stop "flip-flopping" and grant U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement  officers a permanent home on the grounds of the county jail in East Meadow.

The Curran administration had requested that ICE agents vacate a trailer on the jail's campus, near the visitors center, by Jan. 31. Republican lawmakers and union officials protested, and President Donald Trump criticized the move last week.

Curran, a Democrat, said last week that ICE could move to the grounds of nearby Nassau University Medical Center. But on Monday, she said ICE could remain in the trailer for the time being while she reviews the agency's proposal for a permanent location on the jail campus that would be away from the visitors center.

Curran has been caught in the middle of a political tug-of-war, with immigrant rights groups on one side and Republicans and law enforcement unions on the other.

The activist groups say the ICE presence at the jail has caused fear in immigrant communities, who worry that the county is aiding federal deportations.

The lawmakers and law enforcement unions say ICE can work with jail officials to identify members  of the MS-13 street gang. Thomas Decker, an ICE field director, said ICE could ensure that “criminal and deportable alien gang members are not released into the communities of Nassau County when a lawful and efficacious manner to remove them . . . is available." 

"This is too serious of an issue for this administration to be flip-flopping on a daily basis," Legis. John Ferretti Jr. (R-Levittown) said at a news conference Wednesday outside the correctional facility. "What will tomorrow bring? We don't know."

In a statement, Curran said the GOP news conference represented “pathetic political opportunism with no basis in reality. Exploiting divisive rhetoric to spread fear about gang members being released into our streets isn’t just irresponsible — it’s an outrageous lie."

Curran said she and Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder "are in discussions with ICE to find a suitable location. ICE will remain at the jail until we get this right for everyone.”

County officials first sought to remove ICE from the jail after a November appellate court ruling overturned a Suffolk policy of detaining individuals under federal warrants.

Brian Sullivan, president of the Nassau County Sheriff's Correction Officers Benevolent Association, said, "We at the jail . . . know that we've been dealing with a gang presence and a gang problem in Nassau County for quite a few years now."

He said one benefit "we've had in combating this problem is having ICE at the Nassau County jail property . . . gaining intelligence to find out about what's going on within the criminal enterprises of these gangs."

Legis. Steve Rhoads (R-Bellmore) said the "bottom line is the county executive's job is not immigration reform. The county executive's job is to protect public safety."

The GOP lawmakers also called on Curran to commit to meeting with community members regarding her position about relocating ICE agents.

By Scott Eidler

scott.eidler@newsday.com@ScottEidler

Scott Eidler is a deputy editor for the towns department at Newsday. Scott has worked at Newsday since 2012 and previously covered municipal government and education.