East End residents say they back Tamara Mayorga-Wong, arrested for trying to stop ICE agents from detaining a man in Westhampton

Some East End residents rallying behind a woman arrested after trying to stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from detaining a man in Westhampton say they have a message for her: We’ve got your back.

The residents started an online fundraising campaign that has raised thousands of dollars. They also are sending messages of solidarity to Tamara Mayorga-Wong, 57, who faces charges of obstructing a federal proceeding.

"I think it was incredibly brave and important" what Mayorga-Wong did last month near the post office, where she works as a mail carrier, said Anita Boyer, who organized the fundraising campaign. "There is a huge difference between police officers or even properly identified federal agents executing legal warrants, and masked, unidentified people snatching people out of Dunkin' Donuts, out of their court hearings."

The fundraiser "sends a larger message to the community that ... if you stand up when you see something like this happening, the community's going to have your back."

Mayorga-Wong was suspended without pay from her job at the post office the day of her arrest and has no income currently, said her lawyer, Felipe Garcia, of the Federal Defenders, a nonprofit legal organization. She had never been arrested and has been shaken by it, he said. An immigrant herself from Latin America, she is a U.S. citizen.

What she saw that day looked to her like a "kidnapping" of a person she knew and she intervened, Garcia said.

"I think it is time to hold them accountable for their actions and to not be afraid," Garcia said, referring to ICE and the government’s mass deportation campaign. "I’m glad the people are seeing her for who she is. She’s a very good woman. I think the community is behind her."

ICE officials did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Shouted at the agents

Mayorga-Wong ran out of the post office on Nov. 5 when she saw federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detaining a man outside a neighboring 7-Eleven store, according to an affidavit filed by a special agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

She shouted at the agents demanding to see a warrant and yelled, "You can’t do this!" As the agents prepared to drive away, Mayorga-Wong allegedly ran to the rear passenger side, opened the door and in Spanish told the man to flee.

The agents recaptured him, then told Mayorga-Wong she was under arrest as she entered her vehicle in the post office employee parking lot and tried to leave.

She refused to obey repeated commands to get out of her car, the criminal complaint states. Agents removed her and took her to Southampton police headquarters in Hampton Bays, records show.

Inside, according to the complaint, Mayorga-Wong asked a bilingual deportation officer: "Why are you doing this to your own people?"

"What are you going to tell your children about what you do?" Mayorga-Wong asked the agents.

She pleaded not guilty on Nov. 20 to the federal charges. After an arraignment at the Eastern District of New York courthouse in Central Islip, she was released on $50,000 bond.

Widespread support

Minerva Perez, executive director of the nonprofit OLA of the East End, said while some residents were critical of Mayorga-Wong’s actions, there was widespread support for at least the emotions that prompted her to intervene.

"This is definitely striking a chord with the people out there," said Perez, whose group is the largest Latino advocacy organization on the East End. Mayorga-Wong "acted from her heart and now she needs support."

Mayorga-Wong, who appeared frightened and anxious in court, "just loves her community, and she's really so appreciative of the support that people are showing," Perez said.

While OLA does not recommend people physically intervene in ICE actions, Perez said many were so overwhelmed with anger and fear they needed to do something, such as lobbying or protesting.

"It's very, very hard to see a community that you know is peaceful and beautiful and hardworking being torn apart," she said. "You're watching lives being destroyed. It's impossible to just sort of stand there."

Many residents, she added, think Mayorga-Wong "acted with compassion and bravery and they believe that she put herself in harm's way to protect our community."