State Senator Gustavo Rivera and Hands Off NYC hosted a Day of Action where residents learned strategies for protecting one another from ICE enforcement.
A group of about 20 people walked up and down Fordham Road speaking primarily with street vendors and business owners who are constantly on the street in high-traffic areas. “They are the eyes of our neighborhood,” said Rivera.
His team distributed “Know Your Rights” palm cards in English, Spanish, French and Arabic, and a Bengali version will be available soon.
Rivera educated participants about the need for ICE agents to have a judicial warrant —not just an administrative warrant— in order to enter a private home or business to look for someone.
His team also handed out whistles, a sort of grassroots alert system used in New York City and other cities to indicate that ICE agents are nearby. Repeated short bursts on the whistle indicate that ICE agents have been spotted, whereas long blows indicate that an ICE arrest is in progress, said Rivera.
He said ICE agents have been spotted in his district, which covers wide parts of the west and central Bronx and a small part of the east Bronx, including the neighborhoods of Fordham, Norwood, Riverdale, Van Cortlandt and part of Morris Park.
The district has a large immigrant population with residents from West Africa, Albania, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and more.
Rivera said he is concerned about what he has seen throughout the city and in his own backyard. Several weeks ago, one of his staffers saw agents from an unmarked van stopping and questioning residents just a block from his office. Rivera said he has also seen DHS trucks parked on Grand Concourse near Fordham Road and reports of an ICE raid in the southern part of District 33.
The Trump administration has repeatedly claimed its immigration crackdown is targeting criminals, “the worst of the worst,” for deportation.
Instead, in New York City and elsewhere, random residents —most often Latino men— have been approached by unidentifiable agents in unmarked vans, arrested and sometimes deported, even to countries to which they have no connection at all.
“This administration is lying about what they’re doing,” Rivera said. ICE is not weeding out criminal activity but “terrorizing normal, everyday folks,” he added.
Latinos of any citizenship status are clearly most at risk of ICE arrest in the city. The New York Immigration Coalition found that people from South and Central America make up 25% of the city’s immigrant population but 75% of those arrested by ICE.
Furthermore, data analyzed by THE CITY showed that 70% of the more than 3,000 New Yorkers recently arrested by ICE in New York City have no criminal convictions or even charges.
In these times, the community must come together, Rivera said. “We have to protect each other. The federal government’s not gonna do it, so we have to do it ourselves.”
During Trump’s second term, Rivera has become increasingly outspoken against the administration’s actions targeting immigrants.
The senator was one of 13 state and city lawmakers arrested by Department of Homeland Security officers on Sept. 18 as they demanded to view conditions at the tenth-floor detention facility for undocumented residents at 26 Federal Plaza.
The lawmakers were later granted acquittal contemplating dismissal (ACD), so long as they are not arrested inside a federal facility within six months, with the exception of Comptroller Brad Lander, who opted to go to trial.
Rivera said his brief detention did not deter him. “We’re certainly going to continue to push. If there’s escalation on their part, then we’re willing to escalate on our end as well.”
The Day of Action highlighted people’s desire to look out for one another and learn practical steps. For instance, one taco vendor asked for five additional whistles and palm cards for her family members, said Rivera.
He plans to hold ongoing events and encourages residents to visit his district office at 2432 Grand Concourse for resources for dealing with ICE enforcement. “Since they’re not stopping, we’re not stopping.”
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
