The Trump administration is claiming victory for its mass deportation campaign. But in central and northern New York, advocates for the immigrant community say ICE agents are going too far.
On Wednesday, about 100 people gathered outside Syracuse City Hall, chanting and holding signs in support of local immigrants.
Jessica Maxwell, executive director of the Workers’ Center of Central New York, said raids by ICE agents are out of control.
"I think it's just outrageous what's happening in our community, and we need to stand up and show that we won't tolerate it,” Maxwell said. “Rights are being violated. People are being taken away, detained, families, workers, and it's tearing our communities apart, and we have to stand up and put a stop to it."
Sal Curran, the executive director of the Volunteer Lawyers Project of Central New York, is calling on the state government to earmark $165 million for the Access to Representation Act, to ensure every person who is detained by ICE has access to a lawyer.
"The Trump administration has begun a lawless campaign of mass deportation, mass detention and an all-out assault on immigrant rights,” Curran said.
The Trump administration said its deportation plan is focusing on people who are breaking the law, but Maxwell said that’s not what she’s seeing.
"There are people that I know, who I have known for years, who have been picked up,” she said. “We know people who've been picked up who have legal cases in process, a clear violation of their due process rights."
The protesters are encouraging anyone who is concerned about the detainments and deportations to reach out to their local, state, and federal officials.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has spoken out in recent days against a raid in Sackets Harbor in Jefferson County, where ICE agents sent a mother and her three children to a detention facility.
