An East Elmhurst mother, Jennifer, recalled how her family was subjected to an immigration raid as federal agents searched for a cousin who no longer lives at her apartment
Jennifer told the local news outlet that the raid had a lasting effect on the mental health of her young children(Image: screengrabs)
An East Elmhurst family was left shaken when federal agents busted into the Queens apartment on Nov. 13 in search of a family member who no longer lives at the residence.
Jennifer, 33, said that agents pointed guns at her and her four children, aged 2, 6, 10, and 13, according to a video and remarks from the family, reports THE CITY.
The cell phone video captured by Jennifer shows the moment a federal agent wearing a tactical vest bursts through the door of the family’s apartment, immediately drawing his gun, yelling: “Put your f—— hands up, stupid, get out here.”
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“I have my baby! I have my baby, no!” Jennifer yells back, referring to her 2-year-old, whom she was holding at the time.
“Then I’m coming to get you, by your baby,” the agent fires back.
“I have my baby, I have my kids! What the f—,” she responds.
“You hear us knocking,” the agent responds.
The video then cuts off as the agent comes into Jennifer’s room as she yells, “Don’t touch me!”
Jennifer told the news outlet that the agents were searching for a cousin who hadn’t lived in the apartment for years..
When the agents entered the apartment, they dragged Jennifer by her hair and pointed an assault rifle at her 13-year-old daughter, she recounted. At one point, the agents inquired about the legal status of Jennifer’s children. All of Jennifer’s children were born in the U.S.
The agents eventually left without making any arrests after questioning the family for nearly an hour about the cousin’s whereabouts.
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The family added that the agents did not identify themselves or show Jennifer a warrant; however, it’s unclear if they had one. Surveillance footage showed the agents in tactical gear outside the apartment. One agent held a riot shield with the words U.S. Marshal, and another agent wore a neck gator with the letters “ICE” on it, reports THE CITY.
Jennifer told the local news outlet that the raid had a lasting effect on the mental health of her young children.
Surveillance footage showed the agents in tactical gear(Image: Screengrab via Security Footage)
She recalled how the family was asleep early Thursday morning when the agents surrounded their home, banging on the doors and windows for about half an hour and yelling at them to open the doors before they finally burst into the apartment.
“I didn’t open, my kids were terrified,” Jennifer recalled in Spanish. She immigrated to the United States as a teenager from Mexico. “I didn’t know what to tell them.”
Jennifer’s oldest daughter, Jayleane, 13, recalled how the agents pointed a long rifle at her while they told her to put her hands up.
“It was big, I didn’t know what to do. I was trying to help my mom,” she said to the outlet. “I saw they were pulling her hair. They had the gun in front of me. I was scared.”
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Jennifer explained that the agents pressed her for information about a cousin who had moved out of the apartment over two years ago. She added that an agent showed her a picture of him and asked where he was. She told them that she didn’t know his current address, as they had lost contact, but she thought he had moved to Pennsylvania.
Agents instructed her to text and call her cousin. He eventually answered on the second call and agreed to surrender to the agents at Jennifer’s apartment in the next few days. She mentioned that the agents had promised to return the following week to look for her cousin again as they had left the house.