The wealthy residents of East Hampton went into panic mode over the possibility their hired help could face expulsion from the US as part of Donald Trump’s mass deportation program.
The exclusive Long Island village – with an average home value of $2 million and residents that include Sylvester Stallone’s daughters – held an emergency meeting amid fears that ICE would round up the employees of locals.
East Hampton Town Police Chief Michael Sarlo tried to quell their fears by insisting his employees were not required to assist ICE.
‘The only way any of my officers could ever enforce federal immigration law is if they were deputized,’ he said. ‘The town board would not allow any of our officers to be deputized.’
One resident who spoke at the board meeting, Daniela Rivas, was overcome with emotion.
‘It’s really hard for me when my 10-year-old daughter asked me, “Mom, are you legal?,”‘ she said.
‘The most important thing we need to focus on right now is our kids. While they’re at school, they’re scared that when they go back home their parents won’t be there.’
East Hampton Village Police Chief Jeffrey Erickson reiterated that local police would not assist federal actions: ‘If it is an ICE detainer or an administrative warrant, we do not have the authority, we will not hold them.’
The development came as Attorney General Pam Bondi warned sanctuary cities they ‘are going to be next’ if local officials continue to harbor and protect illegal aliens over the safety of citizens.
Chief Sarlo told the East Hampton Star: ‘I haven’t seen an ICE agent in this town in I can’t tell you how long.’
Erickson wants the undocumented migrants in the Suffolk County village to feel comfortable speaking to police if they themselves are in trouble.
‘If they’re a victim of a crime, we don’t want them to fear the police, we want them to call us so we can protect them,’ he said.
‘It’s clear to me that everybody thinks that ICE is just going to come and take anybody that is here…that is not what’s happening,’ added Mayor Jerry Larsen.
Alex Lovett, a resident of East Hampton, expressed gratitude that the town held the meeting and that undocumented migrants were a huge part in what keeps the hamlet running.
‘I think it’s a very good idea and very helpful considering we have a very large community here, and people rely on them. They’ve been a vital part of the community for a very long time,’ she told News 12.
Councilwoman Cate Rogers and Adam Fine, the East Hampton School District superintendent, said that residents have to remain on watch to help their neighbors and employees.
‘The rules are being rewritten by the second,’ Rogers said. ‘I want to assure everyone that this is the beginning of a conversation. It’s not a one-and-done statement, ‘Okay we did our job let’s move on.’ We’re invested. We’re your neighbors, and we’re with you.’
Bondi spoke with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Thursday to share how the Justice Department sued the city of Chicago and its mayor Brandon Johnson earlier in the day over its progressive sanctuary policies.
‘Not only did we sue today the city of Chicago, we sued the state of Illinois, we sued the mayor, we sued the governor, and we sued others,’ she said.
The Department of Justice also put a pause on all federal funding to sanctuary states and cities and nonprofits, according to a memo Bondi sent out Thursday.
When asked by Hannity about whether the sanctuary city and states were aiding and abetting the illegal migrants, the AG didn’t pass up a moment to make the new Trump directives crystal clear.
‘What they’re doing is they are choosing illegal aliens over the safety and security of their own citizens and the men and women of law enforcement who are out there trying to protect their citizens,’ Bondi responded.
‘And let me be very clear, if you don’t comply with federal law, you’re going to be next,’ Bondi proclaimed, putting those who harbor the migrants on notice.
The worries were founded after nearby Nassau County announced it will be teaming up with federal authorities to assist Trump’s migrant mandate. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman (pictured right), a Republican and Trump ally, made the announcement Tuesday
In Bondi’s lawsuit against Chicago she argues that their sanctuary laws ‘interfere’ and ‘obstruct’ with ICE’s ability to arrest and deport illegal migrants.
The 22-page lawsuit is the first brought by Donald Trump’s attorney general, with more that could potentially be headed for places like East Hampton.
Nearby Nassau County announced Tuesday it will be teaming up with federal authorities to assist Trump’s migrant mandate.
County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican and Trump ally, said that 10 county police detectives will be given the same authority as federal immigration agents and work with them to detain immigrants who are in the country illegally after they are charged with other crimes.
While dozens of other police departments around the U.S. have similar arrangements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the move makes the county of nearly 1.4 million residents an outlier in New York, where state law limits when police agencies can cooperate with federal immigration officials.
Blakeman said police will check the immigration status of people charged with crimes and notify ICE if they are there illegally.
The arrangement also includes embedding officers with ICE and providing jail cells for short-term detainment until arrestees can be handed over to federal authorities.
‘I want to stress that this program is about illegal migrants who have committed crimes,’ said Blakeman.
‘This isn´t about raids. This is targeted enforcement of our laws based here in the state of New York – people who have committed crimes here and have violated federal laws by being in the United States illegally.’
A federal law, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, authorizes ICE to delegate authority to state and local police to perform certain immigration officer duties under ICE´s oversight.
But some states and communities have restricted how law enforcement officers can work with immigration authorities.
ICE has deported nearly 6,000 illegal aliens since President Donald Trump took office, a senior White House official told DailyMail.com.
In the 15 days since Trump has been in office that averages out to around 370 – 400 deportations per day.
ICE deported 512 illegal immigrants on Monday alone, according to federal data shared with DailyMail.com.
In total, ICE arrested 715 individuals with outstanding immigration violations on Monday.
Of these migrants, 73 percent either had known criminal convictions or pending charges, including homicide, sexual crimes against minors and drug trafficking.
And six Tren de Aragua (TDA) cartel affiliates were arrested on Monday in addition to nine other migrant gang members. The first flights of migrants to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba that started Tuesday included members of the gang and other ‘high-threat’ aliens tied to the cartel.
Since Trump’s swearing-in, close to 9,000 immigration violators have been arrested, many of whom have multiple convictions or charges, the official added.
‘President Trump’s administration is carrying out his promise to arrest and deport criminal illegal immigrants,’ the senior White House official texted DailyMail.com.
‘There’s more to come. This is just the beginning.’
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday Trump celebrated the crack down on criminal aliens that his administration has been carrying out.
‘The volume of crime that they have and the viciousness of the crimes, these people are horrible people, and if somebody thinks they’re going to be wonderful citizens someday, they’re wrong. It’s not going to happen,’ Trump said.
‘If I can get them out of the country and be in some other country where they’re glad to have them because they make a small fee compared to what we’ve paid to a private prison, or to put them in one of our prisons and cost even more money, I think it would be great,’ he continued.
‘I’d love to get them the hell out of our country,’ the president noted.