Immigration advocates and grassroots organizations on Tuesday strongly condemned Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s agreement to coordinate with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency to deport Caribbean and other immigrants.
On Tuesday, Blakeman announced what he described as the “first program of its kind. ” Nassau County Police will “cross-designate” 10 detectives to work with ICE on targeted immigration enforcement.
“Today, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman announced its agreement with the Trump administration to participate in the 287(g) program in which Nassau County Police will be deputized to conduct federal immigration enforcement,” said Murad Awawdeh, president and chief executive officer of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), an umbrella immigration advocacy organization of over 200 groups in New York.
“Immigrants are a vital part of Long Island’s economic life— making up nearly one third of Nassau County’s workforce and one third of its small business owners, and contributing to the $3.1 billion paid annually by New York’s immigrants in state and local taxes,” he said. “But instead of working for an inclusive Nassau County that prioritizes the safety of every resident, County Executive Bruce Blakeman is unnecessarily sowing fear and division amongst our immigrant neighbors and degrading the safety of every Long Islander.
“Not only does Nassau County’s adoption of the 287(g) program undermine public safety and exhaust local resources, deploying local law enforcement to serve as immigration enforcement agents reduces trust in the police and deters immigrants – such as domestic violence survivors – from coming forward when they are the victims of crime,” Awawdeh continued.
He said this policy also “enables harmful racial profiling practices that often puts Black and Brown people at risk, including US citizens.
“This makes us all less safe,” Awawdeh added. “Blakeman’s attack on Long Island’s immigrant communities is a stark reminder of what’s at stake for all New Yorkers when we allow our local enforcement to collude with ICE.”
Therefore, Awawdeh urged New York State Legislature to pass the New York For All bill this year “to keep New York’s state and local resources from fueling Trump and ICE’s cruel agenda, and to ensure the safety of every New York family.”
Make the Road New York, another immigration advocacy group, said that, “Blakeman’s efforts to please the Trump administration by collaborating with ICE
do not represent the values of the residents of Nassau County and further promote fear within our immigrant communities.
“County Executive Blakeman needs to understand that Nassau County’s immigrant communities make significant contributions to our neighborhoods, schools, churches, businesses and culture,” it said. “Blakeman needs to stop any collaboration with ICE and Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda, and start focusing on protecting all the people he was elected to serve.
“We demand that he immediately rescind this agreement and any other collaboration that targets and criminalizes our immigrant Nassau residents,” Make the Road New York added.
Nadia Marin-Molina, co-executive director of National Day Laborer Organizing Network said, “Nassau County’s agreement with ICE is going to make every person in the county less safe, as the immigrant community will be less likely to approach the police and the government to speak out about crime, workplace violations, and other issues.
“New York State needs to take immediate action to protect everyone in the state by passing NY for All,” she urged.
Nia Adams, vice-chair of the Working Families Party, Nassau County Chapter, also said, “Nassau County’s decision to further collaborate with ICE is a dangerous and divisive policy that endangers all of our communities, including but not limited to immigrant, Black, and working-class families.
“This approach to public safety does not make us safer—it sows fear, undermines trust in law enforcement, and perpetuates systemic racism and inequality,” she added. “The Working Families Party of Nassau County stands firmly against this cruel and unjust policy.
“We believe in a vision of public safety that protects and uplifts all people, regardless of immigration status,” Adams continued. “Instead of targeting our neighbors, we must invest in real solutions such as affordable housing, healthcare, education, and community resources. These are the things that create true safety and opportunity for everyone.
“We call on our leaders to reject this fascist approach and stand with immigrant and vulnerable communities,” she said.
Joe Sackman, executive director of the Board of Long Island Progressive Coalition (LIPC), said LIPC calls “shame on this overreach of government provisions taking place in Nassau County,” noting that Nassau County is the second county in New York State “to use this program of turning local police into ICE agents.
“Instead of using federal funds to help Long Island families, Blakeman is spreading fear and targeting migrant New Yorkers who work and pay taxes, treating them as criminals,” Sackman added. “It is not a crime to want a better life and to work hard to feed your family. No human being is illegal.”
Blakeman, a strong supporter of President Trump, told a press conference on Tuesday that Nassau County Police will work with ICE to detain, and eventually deport, targeted undocumented immigrants.
“I wouldn’t characterize it as just violent criminals, if you are a criminal and you are here illegally, then of course the program will take effect, and we will action,” he said.
ICE Acting Deputy Field Office Director Brian Flanagan also said that, “By providing 72-hour bed space, Nassau County will enable ICE to house and transfer of potentially dangerous alien offenders.”
The New York Civil Liberties Union noted in a statement on Tuesday that, “Most New York counties do not partner with ICE for a reason.
“When local law enforcement act like ICE agents, they take on ICE’s reputation and sow deep distrust within the community,” it said. “Immigrants become scared to speak to local police and under-report crimes due to fear of deportation – making it harder for officers to do their jobs and making everyone less safe.”
Last month, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), ACLU of the District of Columbia, and the New York Civil Liberties Union sued the Trump administration over its plan to massively expand fast-track deportations without a fair legal process.
The case, filed in the US District Court in Washington, D.C., was filed on behalf of Make the Road New York, which serves Caribbean and other immigrant communities.
“The Trump administration wants to use this illegal policy to fuel its mass deportation agenda and rip communities apart. Expanding expedited removal would give Trump a cheat code to circumvent due process and the Constitution, and we are again here to fight it,” said Anand Balakrishnan, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project and lead counsel on this case.
“People living in communities all across the United States are at risk of being separated from their families and expelled from the country with no legal recourse,” he added. “This is an attack on communities, our Constitution, and fundamental American values.”
Balakrishnan said the policy targets immigrants nationwide who cannot prove they have been in the country continuously for two years or more.
“Due process requires they get a fair hearing, which this rule strips from them,” he said. “Under this rule, immigrants who have been integrated into and contribute to our communities would get less due process contesting their deportation than they would contesting a traffic ticket.”
The lawsuit cites violations of the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act.
Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said that Trump’s “draconian decision to fast-track mass deportations violates the fundamental right to a fair day in court for hundreds of thousands of people.
“This cruel, extremist effort will undoubtedly leave children without parents, families without their breadwinners, businesses without workers, and immigrant communities in shambles.
“Immigrants deserve sensible, humane policies that carve fair pathways to citizenship — not Trump making horrendous, illegal attacks on their communities,” Lieberman added.
