FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JANUARY 31, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 11
Queens advocates fume over latest ICE sweep in borough
BY EMILY DAVENPORT AND
MARK HALLUM
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
A fi ve-day raid throughout New York
City, Long Island and the Hudson Valley
rounded up 118 undocumented immigrants,
including many Queens residents,
Immigration and Customers
Enforcement (ICE) offi cials announced
on Tuesday.
Th e arrests took place between Jan.
14-18. According to ICE, more than 107
of the individuals arrested were convicted
criminals or had criminal charges
pending, while 55 were a fi nal order of
removal and failed to depart the United
States, or had been previously removed
from the United States and returned illegally.
Among the arrested, offi cials say,
included a Peruvian national in Corona
who is a registered sex off ender and was
convicted of forcible touching; two registered
sex off enders in Kew Gardens, both
Honduran nationals, that were convicted
of sexual misconduct; and an Ecuadorian
national in Flushing who had been convicted
of bail jumping, criminal facilitation,
disorderly conduct, grand larceny,
and attempted grand larceny.
ICE did not release the names of those
taken into custody.
According to ICE, the arrested individuals
all had criminal histories covering
a number of crimes, including assault,
grand larceny, drug possession and sexual
abuse. Offi cials say that more than 35
of the people who were arrested, including
those mentioned above in Queens,
had been previously released from local
law enforcement on an active detainer.
“We have seen time and again that
ICE’s statements contain lies, exaggerated
charges, and mischaracterizations
of people’s records in an attempt to justify
Photo courtesy of ICE
their unconstitutional and immoral
raids,” said Alisa Wellek, executive director
of the Immigrant Defense Project.
“ICE fans the fl ames of hate by demonizing
any immigrant with a criminal
record, ignoring their humanity. Many
people targeted have an off ense from
years earlier, already served any sentence,
and have since rebuilt their lives.”
“Queens is the most diverse borough
in the country and ICE has no place in
our community. In any city, but especially
in a sanctuary city like New York,
ICE’s presence is unacceptable,” said
State Senator Jessica Ramos. “It is my job
as their representative to fi ght for undocumented
people and ensure that families
can stay together. Th is is one reason I am
introducing the one-day bill, which will
shorten the sentencing for misdemeanors
by just one day, so that undocumented
people do not enter ICE deportation
proceedings aft er they have paid their
debt to society.”
According to ICE offi cials, in years
past, many of the individuals would have
been turned over to ICE upon their
release from local custody. However, ICE
offi cials say that now that many sanctuary
cities, including New York City, do
not generally turn over undocumented,
formerly incarcerated immigrants to ICE
as a policy.
“Th e success of this operation is a
direct result of the full commitment of
the dedicated men and women of ICE.”
said Th omas R. Decker, fi eld offi ce director
for ERO New York. “In spite of the
signifi cant obstacles that ICE faces due
to the dangerous policies created by local
jurisdictions, which hinders the cooperation
between ICE and local law enforcement,
ICE will continue to devote the full
eff orts of our agency to protecting citizens
and enforcing federal immigration law
despite challenges being pursued by politically
motivated individuals.”
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