A group of concerned New Yorkers says they have identified vehicles used in ICE raids and are trying to warn people in Lower Manhattan about their presence.
On Tuesday afternoon, more than a dozen individuals spread out over Hudson Square stood beside what appeared to be plain, unattended parked cars. They held up black-and-white signs reading, “ICE used this vehicle to KIDNAP our neighbors,” and bearing an image of a masked ICE agent – a common sight at immigration court within 26 Federal Plaza, where numerous immigrants have been taken into custody.
According to those with immediate knowledge of the process, immigrant rights activists have used a process to document and identify the vehicles — parked near 201 Varick St., an immigration courthouse — on June 16 based on each car’s license plates. The analysis determined that agents have used the vehicles to snatch people from the street, including children.
“We are holding the signs that are identifying exactly what these particular vehicles have been recorded or observed doing, and we’re holding those signs in front of those vehicles, making it very clear that this particular vehicle was seen kidnapping a teenager in Brooklyn three weeks ago, or what have you,” said Jay W. Walker, a local resident and activist. “We’re worried about the safety of all New Yorkers, particularly New Yorkers in very heavily immigrant neighborhoods.”
ICE vehicle warnings in wake of border czar’s threats
The display on June 16 occurred after Border Czar Tom Homan has repeatedly threatened to flood the Big Apple with “more ICE agents than you’ve ever seen,” in response to legislation that Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law which further limited collaboration between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. Homan’s threat has left some New Yorkers in fear that the city could turn into Minneapolis, and even leave some dead like Renee Good and Alex Peretti.
Julie DeLaurier, who was among those who held signs near the alleged ICE vehicles Tuesday, told amNewYork she is committed to standing in defiance, even in the face of the dangers she may face.
“My dad signed up to fight in World War II when he was 21, and he had no expectations of living. I can do this. Every American can do this. Every American can stand up,” DeLaurier said. “Americans have shown courage in so many ways over so many years, and now’s the time for us to stand up and be just a little brave, you don’t have to be hugely courageous, you just need to be brave enough to stand up and say no.”
Local residents such as DeLaurier say they have seen the images and videos online of moments when people — many without criminal records— are stopped by masked men and dragged into waiting vehicles. For DeLaurier, she fears repeating history.
“Americans are not going to make the same mistakes the Germans made. We’re not going to be silent as our neighbors are dragged to concentration camps,” DeLaurier said. “The Germans pulled the curtains as their neighbors were being dragged off. We are doing the opposite. We are not going to let children, hardworking immigrants without even a parking ticket to their name, be dragged out of our communities into concentration camps.”
