East End U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids 'creating havoc and fear' in the community, immigrant advocates say

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents hit the East End this week in a series of raids that immigrant advocates said were creating havoc and fear in the community amid a nationwide crackdown.

On Wednesday in Westhampton, Edgar Tezen, 35, an immigrant from Guatemala, was partially pinned under the tire of a car during his arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents near a 7-Eleven in Westhampton and was later hospitalized, said Melinda Rubin, a Riverhead-based immigration attorney who is representing him.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday disputed Rubin's version, calling it a "smear." The agency contended Tezen was never run over and, while agents were putting him in a car, "his legs gave out and he fell to the ground and begin complaining of chest pains."

Rubin, who visited Tezen in the hospital, called the ICE statements inaccurate and said Tezen had a black mark on his pants and leg pain. "I don’t need to smear U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement," she said. "They are doing a good job of it on their own…based on how they are treating people all over the country."

The arrest, which is garnering attention partly because of a video made by a bystander, came several days after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents smashed two windows of a car in Flanders to arrest an immigrant who was inside, said Rubin, who is also representing that immigrant.

It's unclear how many people were swept up in the East End raids, though Islip Forward, a civic group that tracks U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests, said at least eight people were detained on Wednesday in Westhampton and Hampton Bays. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it detained twelve people on Long Island that day, but not indicate if they were all on the East End.

Minerva Perez, executive director of the nonprofit OLA of Eastern Long Island, said the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions were creating chaos, tearing apart families in an area where immigrants make up a critical part of the workforce.

"I think it was fallacy to think that there was any sort of safety on the East End of Long Island" from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions, she said. "We’ve got peaceful communities here and all of the peace and the safety has been broken."

Assemb. Tommy John Schiavoni (D-Sag Harbor) condemned the raids he said took place in Hampton Bays and Westhampton.

"Thousands across the country are being snatched off the streets without due process," he said in a statement. "Not only is this an affront to the United States Constitution and the New York State Constitution, but the lack of transparency harms the relationship of trust between public officials, law enforcement, and the public, putting civilians and law enforcement in danger."

Rubin said Tezen started running away from the 7-Eleven on Wednesday morning when he saw U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arresting people. The agents gave chase in their vehicle, pulled in front of him and opened the passenger door, which he ran into and fell, she said.

The car was not fully stopped and kept rolling forward, pinning part of Tezen's leg under the rear tire, Rubin said.

A video posted to various social media sites shows Tezen lying on the ground handcuffed next to the rear tire of a car, as agents stand around him. A woman who apparently made the video is heard asking him in Spanish his name, his phone number and whether his leg was pinned under the tire. He appears to say "si."

The woman then lashes out at the agents in Spanish: "Oh my God, these animals ran him over. Idiots."

Tezen was eventually taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead for treatment, Rubin said. 

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in its statement on Friday that "any allegations that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement pinned an illegal alien to the ground under the wheels of a vehicle are FALSE." The agency said Tezen fled on foot from agents, who "easily caught up with him and placed him under arrest." As they were putting him their vehicle, Tezen fell to the ground, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said.

Agents then called for an ambulance, the agency said, adding Tezen was later discharged from the hospital and remains in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody pending deportation proceedings.

 Southampton Town Police Chief James Kiernan said he drove past the scene of the arrest not long after it happened and saw Tezen on the ground several feet away from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicle. He said it was "ridiculous" to state Tezen had been run over by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement car, and the ambulance was not called for that reason. 

In the case in Flanders, Rubin said the immigrant was arrested and eventually taken to an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Orange County. A friend of the immigrant also was arrested, but she did not know where he is.