Fear continues on L.I. with Trump’s immigration order on hold

Noah Manskar
Mary Lagnado, the Westbury school district superintendent, speaks at a Feb. 15 forum on President Donald Trump's executive orders. (Photo by Noah Manskar)

President Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban may be on hold, but his immigration policies still have many Long Islanders anxious and confused.

At a forum on Trump’s executive orders in Westbury on Wednesday night, about a dozen people from ethnic and religious minority backgrounds said the president’s efforts to keep Muslims out of the country and deport undocumented immigrants have them fearing for the safety of their children, their friends and themselves.

“This is the first time in my life that I’ve ever felt afraid to live here,” said Aksha, a Muslim woman from New Hyde Park who did not give her last name. “… I’m really just tired of being scared. This is not how I want to live my life.”

Manhasset resident Isma Chaudhry, president of the Islamic Center of Long Island, and Rabbi Michael White from Temple Sinai of Roslyn organized the forum at Westbury Middle School to share information and build solidarity in opposition to Trump’s policies.

The groups held a similar forum after the November 2016 election for people to air their concerns about Trump’s then-upcoming presidency.

Reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arresting dozens of undocumented immigrants and of people being detained at airports following Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order barring travel from seven Muslim-majority countries has some local Muslims and immigrants taking extreme caution when it comes to travel and accessing government services, they said.

ICE agents earlier this month arrested about 40 foreign nationals in New York who were allegedly in the U.S. illegally as part of a “targeted enforcement operation,” according to a Feb. 11 ICE memo published by the New York Immigration Coalition.

Dory, a woman in the U.S. under political asylum, said she is anxious about getting her children official identification even though they have legal status.

Aksha, the New Hyde Park woman, said she is afraid to travel even domestically.

Cynthia Orellana, a teacher from Westbury, said some of her students fear their parents will be taken away.

The Republican Trump administration’s priorities for whom to deport seem similar to what was already in place, said Silvia P. Finkelstein, the director of immigrant fraud investigations for the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.

But exacerbating the public anxiety are scams taking advantage of the confusion and fear that have resulted from certain changes to immigration policy, Finkelstein said.

For example, she said, police arrested people posing as ICE agents in Queens and demanding money from undocumented immigrants to ward off deportation.

“People are so afraid that no one is coming forward,” Finkelstein said. “Our hotlines are silent.”

Residents and local officials emphasized the importance of collectively supporting people targeted by new laws and letting elected officials know that their communities will not tolerate bigotry.

Susan Gottehrer of the New York Civil Liberties Union encouraged residents to send letters to the Nassau County Police Department asking Acting Commissioner Thomas Krumpter to shield undocumented immigrants by limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities, as New York City does.

“I think the next step is for us to be very public, very loud and very consistent about sending that message to the community at large, to the people who represent us and to the law enforcement that is supposed to protect us,” Rabbi White said.

Others said it is also important to teach about immigration, diversity and acceptance in classrooms and create a school environment where students feel safe.

Westbury schools offer resources for students who fear for their safety and for families who need immigration help, Mary Lagnado, the Westbury school superintendent, said.

“It’s important to kind of say, ‘Look, this is our humanity, and we’re going to respect it,'” said Sonia Arora of Port Washington, the founder of Education for Liberation, a diversity education program.

A federal appeals court on Feb. 9 put an indefinite halt on enforcement of Trump’s executive order so judges could evaluate whether it was legal. The Trump administration said this week that it will not appeal that ruling and will submit a revised order to the court, according to news reports.

“We had a very smooth rollout of the travel ban. But we had a bad court,” Trump said at a news conference Thursday.

Trump as defended his immigration policies as necessary to maintain national security and to protect Americans from terrorists and criminals.

Civil liberties and immigration-rights advocates have criticized his actions as racist, but at the press conference, Trump said he is “the least racist person.”

Share this Article