Hundreds of protesters marched through Hempstead to push back against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and support immigrants as part of a regional push against a federal immigration crackdown.
The rally on Saturday, March 7, began at the Home Depot, located at 172 Fulton St., eventually culminating with demonstrations held outside of Hempstead Village Hall.
“We must stand up against the continued criminalization of our immigrant neighbors,” organizers of the protest said before the weekend.
The protests continue a wave of opposition to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. The president said during his Feb. 24 State of the Union address that open U.S. borders cause “higher medical bills, car insurance rates, rent, taxes and, perhaps most importantly, crime.”
Protests have occurred throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties during Trump’s second term in the White House, many of which have been centered around immigration.
Reports surfaced earlier in March that an ICE-proposed plan to open a detention facility in Holtsville was stopped by the Town of Brookhaven amid the growth of federal detention centers across the country. The Department of Homeland Security is currently leasing office space in Woodbury for 40 attorneys to operate out of.
Fred Brewnington, a civil rights attorney, called out Home Depot during the protest, as published reports have said the department store has been a hot spot for ICE activity.
Home Depotsays on its website that it does not coordinate with federal ICE agents and that it does not provide the federal access to license plate reader information.
“We need to push back against the fascist aspects taking over our country,” he said.
Brewington and others led several chants during the protest, including ones that said “I say justice you say now,” and “New York for All,” in reference to a proposed state bill that put several checks on the power of immigration enforcement agents.
Source: LI Press
