By JEFF MORRIS
As soon as Donald Trump was sworn in as president Jan. 20, the Department of Homeland Security reinstated official use of the term “illegal alien” over “undocumented noncitizen,” and the Department of Justice announced it would be taking action against “lawless sanctuary city policies.”
The White House announced, “President Trump is already securing the border and arresting criminal illegal immigrants.”
During his first week in office, Trump signed 10 executive orders on immigration and issued a slew of edicts to carry out promises of mass deportations and border security.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement began conducting highly publicized operations in a number of cities, characterized as targeting those convicted of crimes.
However, Trump also expanded arrest priorities to anyone in the country illegally, not just people with criminal convictions, public safety or national security threats and migrants stopped at the border.
In addition, the administration ended a policy to avoid arrests at “sensitive locations,” including schools, hospitals and places of worship. It said it may deport people who entered the country legally on parole. It also threatened to punish “sanctuary” jurisdictions that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
All of this has had a chilling effect on immigrant populations here in Westchester, even without evidence of any actual ICE raids in the county.
On Tuesday, ICE agents were seen at an address in Sleepy Hollow. The village’s mayor said its police department was notified that ICE was going to try to serve an immigration warrant on two specific people with a criminal past. He said there was no implication of a mass roundup, they were not notified whether either of the suspects had been served, and the Sleepy Hollow Police Department was not involved.
Still, a man who spoke during public comment at a meeting of the Sleepy Hollow Town Board that evening said, «Right now, there’s a lot of fear in the community,» and that anxiety is high.
“We have been getting some reports of ICE activity in Westchester and the Lower Hudson Valley — as well as increased reports throughout the state,” Karin Anderson Ponzer, director of legal services at Neighbors Link Community Law Practice, told The Recorder. “It’s not yet clear if there’s an uptick or just that people are more aware because of all the announcements from the current administration.”
She confirmed that they are seeing a lot of apprehension in the immigrant community.
“And not just the immigrant community,” she said. “Immigrants are part of the community overall, so we have folks, whether they actually have an immigration status issue or not, who are concerned for family, friends and colleagues. We’re having a lot of inquiries to get more information.”
Fortunately, said Ponzer, Neighbors Link has a robust assortment of resources available on its website, neighborslink.org, to provide information ranging from how to avoid immigration scams, to protecting families when interacting with ICE, to creating a plan for their family in the event of deportation.
Ponzer said it is important to know that the pain people are feeling is not hypothetical. “Every day I’m seeing people that I care about, who are good people, in tears, because they are so afraid of what’s going to happen to someone they love,” she said. “People are frightened — they’re frightened to go to work, they’re frightened to go to school; children are terrified that something is going to happen to their parents.”
She said clients are calling the Neighbors Link legal practice who are on very strong footing legally, who followed every rule, “and they’re terrified that everything that they’ve worked so hard for can just be stripped away from them.”
Ponzer said that encouraging an atmosphere of fear is part of the reason for all the executive orders.
Neighbors Link was founded in Mount Kisco, and has additional locations in Ossining and Yonkers. Closer to home, the Community Center of Northern Westchester, headquartered in Katonah, also serves the immigrant community and was asked for comment.
“Our mission has always been to serve anyone in need with dignity and compassion, regardless of their background or situation,” said CCNW Executive Director Clare Murray. “We remain committed to providing a welcoming place for our clients in need of food, clothing, and additional resources.”
Bedford Town Supervisor Ellen Calves, asked by The Recorder how the town might handle ICE enforcement actions, said, “The town of Bedford is committed to upholding and protecting the civil and human rights of all individuals regardless of their race, religion, ethnicity, gender, gender orientation, gender identity or national origin. The enforcement of federal immigration laws is the responsibility of the federal government and its various enforcement agencies, and not the role of the town of Bedford.”
Calves was actually citing one of the provisions of a resolution passed by the town board in March 2017, during the first Trump administration. At the time, Chris Burdick was supervisor, with Don Scott, Lee Roberts and MaryAnn Carr on the board. The purpose of the resolution, it stated, was to reaffirm “policies and practices as an open and welcoming community and one which decries and denounces acts of antisemitism, racism, bigotry, xenophobia and hatred and opposes federal policies which tend to fuel such acts.”
Among its provisions, the resolution stated that in carrying out its work, “the police department and any other departments of the town of Bedford will not inquire about an individual’s immigration status, especially recognizing that to do so may undermine the essential need to respond to victims reporting crimes or injuries and to encourage residents to summon help when needed.”
A local attorney, who preferred to not be named, said it is important that people understand if agents come to their door, they are not under any obligation to let them in.
“People are safe in their homes — a private space,” said the attorney. “The key is the type of warrant the agents have. An administrative warrant is not sufficient to let them in. It has to be a judicial warrant, signed by a judge.”
The attorney also noted that anyone in the country for more than two years is entitled to a hearing, but documentation is needed to prove that.
“It is also really, really important to make copies of those documents and make sure somebody else has them,” said the attorney. Also essential is to have a plan, and to make sure that includes provisions for someone to care for any children.
Ponzer confirmed that advice. “The best antidote to fear is preparation and a plan,” she said.