Long Island ICE rallies: Hundreds protest activity, while caravan supports agents

Hundreds gathered at rallies across Nassau County on Saturday to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity that has become a flashpoint issue exposing diverging views on immigrant rights and the role of federal officers. 

The protests, some held in Freeport, Rockville Centre, Baldwin and Lynbrook, were met with a pro-ICE caravan of about 50 vehicles decked out in Trump paraphernalia and playing songs like “Ice Ice Baby” from car speakers that drove up and down Sunrise Highway.

The rallies follow high-profile incidents in Minneapolis, where ICE agents shot and killed two American citizens, and a string of federal immigration enforcement actions on Long Island that has deeply divided residents and spurred an activist network warning immigrants of possible activity.

The Trump administration has launched an expansive effort to arrest and deport immigrants in the country illegally, part of a campaign promise targeting criminals. Statistics show about 26% of ICE detainees nationally have a criminal record. In Nassau County, officials have detained more immigrants who have no criminal history since entering the United States than immigrants who do, ICE data shows.

While there were no incidents reported between the caravan members and anti-ICE protesters, some members of the caravan said a bystander threw a snowball and then pulled a flagpole attached to the rear of a vehicle stopped at a red light on Sunrise Highway in Freeport. The bystander also damaged the rear license plate of another vehicle, according to members of the caravan.

Officers from the Freeport Police Department responded, and both parties reached an amicable resolution that did not result in any arrests. The bystander shook hands with two members of the caravan, apologized and paid them cash to cover the damage, a Newsday reporter witnessed. Police officers on scene declined to comment, and no one at police headquarters was available to comment by phone. 

The pro-ICE caravan, organized by the Bellmore Patriots, began at the Bellmore Long Island Rail Road parking lot.

Before the caravan departed, the drivers gathered in the parking lot to say the Pledge of Allegiance — emphasizing the phrase “liberty and justice for all."

Jay Weinstein, a co-founder of the Bellmore Patriots, said the group began organizing the caravan a few weeks ago after seeing a flyer announcing the demonstrations. He said their message was to support ICE, which he believes is “doing the right thing.”

“We have enough crime in our own country, we don’t need it from foreign countries,” he said as to why he supports the mass deportations.

Meanwhile, local advocates said the increase of immigration enforcement is creating tension in Long Island neighborhoods. 

Hazel Leon, a rally organizer and a member of Call to Action Long Island, said immigrant communities “are being terrorized.”

Speaking before a rally that drew around 70 people to a section of Sunrise Highway near the Freeport Long Island Rail Road station, Leon said the increase in federal enforcement has led some of her neighbors to fear leaving their homes.

“A lot of people are no longer walking on our main roads anymore,” said Leon, 31, of Freeport.

The group chanted for ICE to be removed from Long Island while holding signs that read “Unmask ICE” and “ICE out now.” Hundreds of people attended rallies in Rockville Centre and Merrick. 

Holding a flagpole with an upside-down American flag, Rob Zelinski, 67, of Baldwin, said he attended the Freeport rally to speak out against “disgusting” federal immigration enforcement that he has seen on Long Island and in other parts of the country.

“What went on in Minneapolis is unbelievable,” he said.