Protesters rally in Hampton Bays against ICE arrests, presence

A crowd of about 100 people gathered on Montauk Highway in Hampton Bays Friday to protest recent arrests made by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents earlier this week on the South Fork.

Demonstrators gathered in front of the Hampton Bays Fire Department headquarters, where federal agents were seen meeting in the parking lot Wednesday morning, according to Southampton Police Chief James Kiernan.

“ICE is coming to our community; we are not happy with that. We want peace in our community,” said Jose Figueroa, 57, of Flanders, an immigrant from Mexico. He said there is “fear of persecution for our community.”

ICE operations on Long Island resulted in the arrest of 12 people on Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which operates ICE, said in an email to Newsday. Some of those arrested have criminal convictions, and two had re-entered the country illegally after they were deported, the agency said.

Residents and immigration advocates said ICE has created fear in the community. Friday’s protest struck an upbeat tone, with Latin pop music playing over a speaker, demonstrators blowing whistles and cars honking in solidarity as they passed.

Leydy Merced, executive director of Centro Corazón de Maria, a Hampton Bays social service and advocacy organization for immigrants, said ICE’s presence has made the Latino community “afraid to live a normal life.”

“We have to make noise. Otherwise, it is invisible. It's like nothing ever happened,” Merced said.

Shailee Garcia Cordova, 23, an East Quogue resident and daughter of Guatemalan immigrants, said it is “so disheartening to see ICE in our community; to see families get broken apart; to see individuals just be mistreated on a daily basis.”

More than a third of Hampton Bays residents are Hispanic or Latino, and about a quarter of the hamlet's residents were born outside the United States, according to federal Census Bureau estimates.

Hampton Bays resident Anita Boyer said she organized the protest on short notice. She said she learned of the ICE agents' firehouse presence through the rapid response group created by the Latino advocacy organization OLA of Eastern Long Island.

Rick Durand, board chairman of the Hampton Bays Fire District, told Newsday ICE did not notify the department or ask permission before meeting in the parking lot.

“It's a federal organization; they can come and go as they please,” Durand said. But he added that commissioners were consulting with counsel to see whether restrictions could be placed on ICE agents meeting on district property.

In its email, DHS also disputed claims made by the lawyer of Edgar Tezen, 35, an immigrant from Guatemala whom ICE arrested in Westhampton.

Attorney Melinda Rubin told Newsday Tezen began fleeing the Westhampton 7-Eleven when he saw ICE agents making arrests. The officers pulled in front of Tezen and opened the passenger door, she has said. Tezen ran into the door and fell, Rubin said.

In a video posted to social media, Tezen appeared to confirm to the woman filming that his leg was pinned under the tire of the agents’ vehicle.

DHS said ICE agents were attempting to place Tezen in their vehicle when “his legs gave out and he fell to the ground and begin [sic] complaining of chest pains.”

Tezen was taken to the hospital and later placed in ICE custody, where he is "pending removal proceedings," the DHS statement said.

DHS said that claims that anyone was "pinned  ... to the ground under the wheels of a vehicle are FALSE."  The agency said the accusation was a “smear.” 

Kiernan has also said Tezen was not run over.

Newsday's Bart Jones contributed to this story.