STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Reports of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Port Richmond Saturday prompted local advocacy group La Colmena to organize a walk-through of the area the following morning.
At 7 a.m. Sunday, the group gathered to conduct an “ICE Watch” event to monitor the area for three hours. The event spread quickly on social media, with La Colmena’s post garnering over two dozen shares on Facebook by 8 a.m.
According to La Colmena’s Executive Director Yesenia Mata, Port Richmond residents’ anxiety has escalated following reported ICE agent activity in the neighborhood on Saturday.
The group’s walkthrough aimed to monitor Port Richmond Avenue for the potential return of federal agents to the area, Mata explained.
“We’re distributing information and encouraging people to report ICE sightings to La Colmena on Facebook,” Mata explained. “Our goal today is to demonstrate how quickly we responded to ICE being in plain sight yesterday.”
Reports of ICE agents in Port Richmond Saturday prompted local advocacy group La Colmena to organize a walk-through Sunday morning. The effort aimed to monitor the area for any potential return of federal agents. Advance/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence
Port Richmond is home to a predominantly Latino immigrant community so, when ICE agents reportedly came to the area on Saturday in three cars Mata said the agency was likely testing the area.
“Through this outreach we’re sending the message that we’re ready and organized,” Mata declared. “We’re letting the community know they’re not alone.”
Mata said she has received numerous messages from community members who have expressed concern about governmental plans to possibly use Fort Wadsworth as an ICE detention facility.
“A community member just told us his friend was detained after being pulled over, even though everything in the car was valid,” La Colmena volunteer Cesar Vargas said. “This type of information helps us understand ICE’s tactics and operations. We’re documenting these incidents for current and future litigation purposes. Courts are already releasing some people because of ICE’s unlawful detention and holding practices.”
Reports of ICE agents in Port Richmond Saturday prompted local advocacy group La Colmena to organize a walk-through Sunday morning. The effort aims to monitor the area for any potential return of federal agents.Advance/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence
In response to growing community concerns, La Colmena has made a firm commitment to protest the establishment of an ICE facility in the borough and to keep the community fully informed of all developments.
Port Richmond residents thanked La Colmena activists during the outreach efforts.
Mata said community members expressed gratitude for her organization’s efforts to keep ICE at bay, noting that seeing La Colmena’s boots-on-the-ground effort brought them a sense of peace. The La Colmena team had the chance to educate the residents about their rights if they should encounter ICE in the future.
– Reports of ICE agents in Port Richmond prompted local advocacy group La Colmena to organize a walk-through tomorrow morning. The effort aims to monitor the area for any potential return of federal agents. Advance/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrenceAdvance/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence
Although La Colmena began ICE watches in 2016 during Trump’s first term, the activists, including U.S. citizens, now carry their passports for proof of citizenship while participating in “ICE Watch” activities.
Mata, a member of the Army Reserves, considered carrying her military tags for identification during the patrol.
Mata stressed that ICE does not exclusively target non-citizens.
In October, an Alabama construction worker who is a United States citizen said he was arrested twice by federal immigration agents who claimed his driver’s license was fake.
Reports of ICE agents in Port Richmond prompted local advocacy group La Colmena to organize a walk-through tomorrow morning. The effort aims to monitor the area for any potential return of federal agents. Yesenia MataYesenia Mata
Mata delivered a pointed warning to residents of Staten Island who may hold anti-immigrant views: It could be you, too.
“For those that are here on the Island that are against immigrants, keep in mind that your own privilege of being a U.S. citizen doesn’t cover you now that citizens are being taken away too,” Mata said.
The group hopes that organizing protests and patrolling the streets for ICE brings a sense of peace and collective strength to Islanders frightened by the agency’s presence.
“This is why ICE Watch remains here,” she said. “We want to show that Staten Island’s immigrant community is prepared. We will alert our community when ICE is present, and we are not afraid. We saw what happened in Chicago, and we will not allow that in our neighborhoods.”
Reports of ICE agents in Port Richmond prompted local advocacy group La Colmena to organize a walk-through tomorrow morning. The effort aims to monitor the area for any potential return of federal agents. Yesenia MataYesenia MataWelcoming Staten Island initiative
The Welcoming Staten Island Initiative has bought together a network of organizations to protect and inform immigrant families of ICE activity, Mata said.
“We’ve been organizing since January, which is why we were able to respond so quickly when ICE was spotted,” Mata explained. “Our established organization made it easy to know exactly what needed to be done and mobilize rapidly.”
The coalition is building emergency response systems, offering legal education and advocating for immigrant rights.
Allies who are U.S. citizens are learning how to document ICE encounters for legal use and how to remain disciplined during potential crackdowns. Volunteers are drawing lessons from areas such as Chicago, where confrontations escalated.
– La Colmena led an ICE Watch walk in Port Richmond early Sunday morning. Organizers said the move followed sightings of immigration enforcement agents earlier in the week. Advance/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrenceAdvance/SILive.com | Shaina McLawrence
“They’re going to try to provoke you, throw tear gas, push you, but you can’t take the bait,” said Mata. “If you do, they’ll use it against you—they’ll say, ‘Look how violent they are, we need to deploy the National Guard.’”
Through the Welcoming Staten Island initiative, Mata has been able to help organize a network of schools, churches, businesses and individuals to combat ICE agents in the borough.
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