14 JULY 12, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Councilman speaks out against ‘Abolish ICE’ movement
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
Immigration has persisted as one
of the most debated political topics
in recent months, and here in the
most diverse county in America, one
Queens lawmaker recently felt compelled
to share his thoughts.
Councilman Robert Holden released
a written statement on July 5 addressing
the “Abolish ICE” movement that
has been gaining momentum in the
immigration discussion. As a member
of the Council Committee on Immigration,
Holden said that he must speak as
a “Democratic voice of reason” against
the campaign to abolish Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“Disbanding ICE doesn’t solve the
immigration issues in our country;
its agents act on behalf of the law,”
Holden said. “If we want to see our
border issues resolved, we need the
United States Congress to legislate
better, more inclusive immigration
policies. Abolishing the agency that
enforces the law is not that answer
and could have grave national security
implications.”
Holden pointed out that the agency
was formed in 2003 as part of the
nationwide security response to
the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Part of the Department of Homeland
Security, ICE has a mission of enforcing
federal laws on border control,
customs, trade and immigration.
The Homeland Security Act of
2002 led to the creation of ICE and
passed overwhelmingly in the United
States Senate with bipartisan support,
including New York Senators
Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton,
Holden continued.
“ICE agents maintain homeland
security and public safety, with
particular regard for terrorism
prevention,” Holden said. “Its
20,000 employees, who work across
46 countries, prevent everything
from terror cell formation to illegal
trade, child pornography and
prostitution, drug smuggling and
human-trafficking.”
On the other hand, Democratic
Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez —
who represents parts of Ridgewood,
Glendale and Woodhaven — recently
released a statement strongly in favor
of abolishing ICE.
“ICE is being used to terrorize
immigrant communities
and carry Trump’s immoral ‘zero-tolerance’
ing terro
t out President
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gins agenc
icient.time
olish orize
policy,” Velazquez
said. “Moreover, the agency’s
almost myopic focus
on harassing and targeting
immigrants distracts from
priorities most Americans
actually share— like cracking
down on transnational
criminals and sex traffi ckers.
At this point, modest reforms
at the margins of the agency
are insufficient. The time has
come to abolish ICE.”
Holden’s statement came a day after
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be affi liated with the group Rise and
Resist hung a large banner reading
“Abolish ICE!” from a railing around
the base of the Statue of Liberty, a
national symbol immigration,on July 4.
Later that same day, another female
protester believed to be affi liated with
the group climbed up the ba
base of the
statue, forcing cing Liberty Island Isla
to be
evacuated while authorities authoriti
spent
hours trying ng to apprehend her.
h
Senator labels ICE as a ‘rogue agency’
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
Another Queens Democrat recently
took a hard stance on
the immigration crisis that is
sweeping the nation when he labeled
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) as a “rogue agency” that
must be abolished.
State Senator Michael Gianaris made
the statement on July 2 at a rally in Long
Island City before welcoming Yeni Gonzalez
to New York. Gonzalez is a Guatemalan
immigrant who was detained
in Arizona and separated from her
children, who were sent to New York
to be in the care of the Cayuga Center
in East Harlem aft er the family illegally
crossed the U.S./Mexico border.
In addition to calling ICE a rogue
agency, Gianaris said that it’s under
the direction of a “rogue president.”
“Both must be stopped before more
havoc is wreaked on people seeking
a better life in our country,” Gianaris
said. “We must abolish ICE and then
abolish Donald Trump at the ballot
box as soon as possible.”
Gianaris was the fi rst person to offi -
cially welcome Gonzalez to New York
aft er a constituent from Long Island
City, Julie Collazo, organized a volunteer
group to bring Gonzalez to her children.
Collazo and the rest of the volunteers
raised more than $50,000 on a GoFund-
Me account, bonded Gonzalez out of
the detention center where she was
being held and drove across the country
to reunite her with her children.
When the Ridgewoood Times
spoke to Gianaris on June 10
about his experience with Gonzalez,
the lawmaker said that
the distressed mother’s will be reunited with her family
and share their story was “very
powerful.”
“She was tired and beaten
down with everything she
had been through,” Gianaris
said. “I was impressed with
her strength and resolve to not
only do what is necessary to
get back with her children, but
tell her story so all mothers in
detention can have theirs told
as well.”
The next day, Gianaris also
accompanied Gonzalez as she
went to the Cayuga Center to
see her children for the fi rst
time in fi ve weeks. Gonzalez
met privately with her children,
but Gianaris described her “tremendous
excitement” before
arriving at the center and
her anxiety aft er the visit over fi nding
sponsorship so that her children can
be released.
The senator went on to explain that
while he understands that policies
from the president determine how ICE
should act, he thinks
agents could be acting
in a “very aggressive
and inappropriate
manner” in some
situations.
“ T h e
agency has
taken on a
very rogue
character, so
we’re hearing
a lot of
stories of ICE
agents asking
for ID on
lines to get
onto mass
transit, or
the situation where they’re called in
when someone uses an NYCID,” Gianaris
said.
In abolishing ICE, Gianaris made
clear that the idea is not to eliminate
border security, it’s to restructure
and reorganize enforcement eff orts.
Since ICE has only been in existence
for less than 20 years, the senator
pointed out, it would not be unprecedented
to make such a change.
Gianaris’ stance followed suit with
fellow Democratic representatives
from the area. Congresswoman
Grace Meng introduced legislation
on June 28 to help immigrant children
who have been separated from their
families, and Congresswoman Nydia
Velazquez called for the abolition of ICE
on June 29. Councilman Robert Holden,
on the other hand, said that he wanted
to be a “voice of reason” for the Democrats,
calling for better legislation and
more inclusive immigration policies.
A son of immigrants himself, Gianaris
said that he is also continuing
to work for immigrants here in his
district. Earlier in 2018, he introduced
a bill aimed at eliminating
discrimination based on immigration
status, and going forward the
senator said his offi ce will always
be a safe resource for immigrants in
Photo via Twitter/@SenGianaris need of help.
Photo by Dean Moses
A protester in Jackson
Heights on June 30
calls for Immigration
and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) to
be abolished, but one
Queens lawmaker
says not so
fast.
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