New Yorkers citywide joined members of the New York City Council Progressive Caucus on Sept. 27 for a day of action called “Stand Against ICE,” rejecting what they called the Trump administration’s unlawful and often violent detention of immigrants and demanding an end to the disappearance of detained immigrants to unknown locations.
In Brooklyn, City Council Member Alexa Avilés led a march and rally in Sunset Park, while her colleagues Shahana Hanif, Jen Gutiérrez, Sandy Nurse, and Lincoln Wrestler organized small-business canvassing events in their respective districts, handing out information about residents’ rights and what to do if ICE shows up at their doors.
In Manhattan, Carmen de La Rosa held a rally and distributed flyers, while in Queens, Shekar Krishnah and Tiffany Cabán hosted a community tabling event and a resource fair, respectively.
Approximately 200 protesters gathered at Fourth Avenue and 59th Street in Sunset Park before marching along Fifth Avenue to the park, where the rally began.
At the rally, Avilés told the crowd that Saturday’s action was a show of solidarity with immigrants who are afraid to leave their homes.
“We say no to Trump’s disgusting deportation agenda,” Avilés said. “We know what he is doing with ICE is terrible, and it is violent. It is unlawful, and it is not what our country stands for. So we are here to say no to ICE.”
Avilés also rejected Trump’s claim that cities like New York are unsafe and vowed to fight his executive orders targeting sanctuary cities.
“They are gonna try to come into our communities and into our city under the guise that we are not safe, and we know we are safe, and we know we keep each other safe. Now, Trump is trying to sue us for our sanctuary city policy. We’re fighting back there too,” she said.
The day of actions came on the heels of a violent incident at 26 Federal Plaza on Sept. 25, when a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent tackled a distressed woman to the ground after her husband, who had just attended an immigration hearing, was arrested by ICE agents.
According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), a research and data organization founded in 1989 at Syracuse University, ICE held more than 59,000 immigrants in detention as of Sept. 21, yet more than 71% of current detainees had no criminal convictions. As of August, immigration courts had recorded 505,599 new cases, with only 1.59% based on alleged criminal activity.
In response to what she described as arbitrary ICE raids and arrests, Assembly Member Marcela Mitaynes, the first immigrant and indigenous Peruvian woman in the New York State Legislature, urged Gov. Kathy Hochul to pass the New York for All Act (S2235A/A3506).
The legislation, introduced by state Senator Andrew Gounardes and Assembly Member Karines Reyes, would prohibit New York state and local agencies, including police and sheriffs, from collaborating with ICE, sharing sensitive information, or diverting personnel or other resources to federal immigration enforcement.
“The governor wants to wait till January. I am ready to go back to work, and I’m asking the governor to call us back to work, to do the job of the people,” Mitaynes said, urging the crowd to contact the governor and press for passage of the legislation, citing ICE’s deputization of law enforcement upstate.
“There are legislators who are afraid. They’re concerned. We see the way the Republicans are attacking, but they need to know that we’re willing to stand with them to do the right thing and pass the legislation that we need,” Mitaynes said. “This is also our home, and we’re not going anywhere.”
Two New York City public school teachers shared how they have witnessed the negative impact of Trump’s anti-immigration agenda on their Sunset Park students.
“We have seen how the fear of ICE has impacted our students and their ability to come to school comfortably,” one teacher said.
Sunset Park resident Jeremy Kaplan attended the march and rally to stand up against ICE, noting that education about immigrants’ rights is essential in preparing for potential escalations.
“It’s really important for communities to come together, to support each other, to build networks,” Kaplan said. “Actions like this are really important — to come together, to say, here are resources, but here’s the community, and we rely on each other for support.”
Rodrigo Camarena, also a Sunset Park resident, urged New Yorkers with resources and privilege not to give in to fear and to support immigrant communities.
“You should refuse to accept the fear, you should refuse to accept the intimidation,” Camarena said. “You should force your elected officials to do the same, to demand a New York for All Act to protect New Yorkers, to demand that our federal representatives protect us and do the most they can to protect New Yorkers.”
