When National Policies Hit Home

by Kathleen Savolt -

These days we are flooded with images of masked agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rounding up people on the streets of American cities, in the hallways of Federal Buildings, outside known areas where immigrants congregate to look for work and even in peoples’ homes and places of business.  For many of us, these images are very difficult to see. 

What is happening here at home – in the Village of Mamaroneck where many of our neighbors are immigrants?  According to the 2020 US Census, 29% of the Village’s population is foreign born with 49% of them from Latin America and 33% from Europe (See HERE). Our diversity has been reported as one of the attractive features of the Village of Mamaroneck.

The Larchmont Mamaroneck Local Summit recently hosted a forum to discuss the impact of the ICE activities on our local community.  See HERE. Representatives from the Community Resource Center and the Community Counseling Center spoke about the impact on our neighbors and our Village.  To their knowledge, a total of 32 people have been deported as of the writing of this article.  This is an increase of 14% from the number reported at Summit meeting just two weeks ago.  Others have self-deported but no figure is available.

ICE Raid in June

There was a raid by ICE on Van Ranst Place in June that resulted in the detention of three individuals.  (Note that this number has been adjusted since the first report.) See HERE. As reported, this action did not involve our local police who were not aware it was happening until it did.

It Happens at 26 Federal Plaza

Since June, twenty-nine Mamaroneck residents have been detained and deported by ICE after arriving for mandatory scheduled meetings at the Immigration Services offices at 26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan.

According to Jirandy Martinez and Bertha Rodriguez from the Community Resource Center, all of the individuals taken had legal status under the Refugee Act of 1980.

Seeking Asylum From Persecution

The Refugee Act of 1980 established the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) to resettle refugees fleeing persecution.  It is managed by the US State Department in cooperation with the Departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services.  Persons entering the US through this program undergo rigorous vetting at the time of their entry (including complete background checks, fingerprinting and interviews) and must be sponsored by someone here in the US.  Individuals with criminal records do not qualify.

To be eligible for the program, an individual must meet the definition of refugee:  fear of persecution on grounds or race, religion, nationality, political opinion or social group.  They must also be deemed of “special humanitarian concern” to the US.  In February 2021, President Biden included persons effected by climate change.  In January 2025, Trump, by executive order,  suspended all new refugee admissions and processing.  Prior to that, number of admissions allowed fluctuated each year.

Once admitted, individuals are issued work permits while their applications for asylum are processed, which takes years.

Credible Fear Screening:  Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t

In 2022, the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice began implementing a rule that presumably was to “ensure that those (refugees) subject to expedited removal who are eligible for asylum are granted relief quickly while those who are not are promptly removed.” (See HERE). This rule was implemented to address the backlog in the immigration courts.

It appears this rule is now being used to remove many more individuals.  The 29 Mamaroneck residents were either scheduled for a “credible fear interview” or called in for one.  Once an interview is scheduled, failure to appear is cause for immediate deportation.  Now, it appears that going to the interview has the same result.

“The Interview”

There is no interview.  The person is immediately taken by ICE.  There is no due process, no court appearance, no order of deportation signed by a court.  Just a masked ICE agent putting the person in handcuffs and taking them away.

Men are Whisked Away

Men are immediately detained.  They are first sent to a detention center nearby but almost immediately moved out of state.  This appears to be done to make obtaining legal assistance difficult if not impossible.

ICE maintains a public database of detainees, but it is only updated once every 24 hours.  If the detainee has an attorney, he (detainee) is usually out of state before the attorney can determine his physical location.  Detainees are allowed to call family members who contact the attorney who can file a writ of habeas corpus to attempt to secure the person’s release.  However, such writs must be filed in State courts and therefore, an attorney admitted to the bar in the state harboring the detainee must be identified and engaged.  The detainee is usually immediately deported from the US.

Women Given Time

Women are treated differently presumably because they may have to arrange for their children.  Females are fitted with an ankle bracelet and given 30 days to self-deport.  They must arrange and finance their own deportation.  Martinez reports that, to date, all the female deportees have left with their children, some of whom were born in the US and are citizens.

“They Did Everything Right”

Twenty-nine of our neighbors were following all the rules put in place when they came to the United States.  “They did everything right,” according to Martinez.  Then the rules changed.

Fear in the Immigrant Community

Thousands of people in our community are now living in fear.  While there have not been any official reports of children staying home from school or workers not showing up for work, there have been several reports of self-deportation and increased need for mental health services.  Sabina Calle, a marriage and family therapist at the Community Counseling Center spoke at the Summit meeting about emotional impacts of fear and uncertainty, especially among the children.  She emphasized that families need to seek and find a balance by being proactive and prepared for what might happen.

The emotional toll is also felt by the people working to help our neighbors.  They, too, are experiencing the impact firsthand.

What Does the Future Hold?

The disappearance of 32 people is devastating for their families and friends.  What is the impact on our community?  For now, perhaps your child is missing a classmate, your housecleaner failed to arrive, or your favorite coffee shop lost an employee.  But, if these actions continue and increase, we will likely experience an economic and emotional impact on our community.