Organizacion Latino Americana of Eastern Long Island is launching a rapid response action plan following an increase in Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests on Long Island.
Operation Stand and Protect has been established to provide access to “an active cohort of local volunteers who are ready to witness, engage, and act swiftly and peacefully to document ICE activities,” according to a statement issued on Monday.
“OLA will train volunteer rapid responders on how to safely and peacefully bear witness to ICE activities in real time,” according to the statement. “This allows OLA to monitor ICE interactions with immigrant community members, document rights violations, and track the kinds of sweeps, raids, and detentions that occur on the East End. It also allows OLA to verify which law enforcement entities are involved in ICE actions, whether they are local, county, state, or federal agencies. Volunteers will also be trained on how to ensure that immigrants know their rights during ICE interactions.”
The announcement came amid eyewitness reports and cellphone video of ICE personnel in Riverhead on Tuesday morning. “People also reported ICE being in East Hampton,” Erika Padilla, OLA’s legal advocate, said in a text message on Tuesday. She said that she and a co-worker drove around East Hampton, Springs, and Amagansett on Tuesday afternoon but saw no activity. “However, we confirmed that they were in East Hampton and arrested a man who had an ankle bracelet,” she said.
“For so many here on the East End, summer has effectively been canceled,” Minerva Perez, OLA’s executive director, said in a statement on Monday. “The reign of terror set into motion by the current presidential administration has hit Long Island and is headed east. We saw this in the summer of 2017 during Trump’s first administration. We are already seeing ICE activity farther west, and we know from bitter experience that ICE raids will arrive here next.”
OLA’s advocacy, mental health, and immigration legal teams are preparing to address stepped-up ICE raids, often carried out by masked agents who, according to the group, resemble “the very militias that cause many community members to flee their home countries. These masked and unmasked officers, who often refuse to identify their agencies, have been roaming the streets of western Suffolk County in hamlets just a short drive away, indiscriminately arresting and taking away immigrant community members.”
OLA has invited those interested in volunteering to fill out a Google form indicating that they are willing to be trained and notified about incidents where their physical presence could make an impact on an immigrant’s interaction with ICE. The form can be found by clicking here.
