Mayor Bill de Blasio said federal immigration agents were seen in East Harlem and Queens on Saturday, hours before the nationwide roundup of immigrants facing deportation was expected to begin reports Patch.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents attempted two unsuccessful raids Saturday in Sunset Park and one in East Harlem, city officials said. Immigration officers left the scene without making any arrests in all three cases, according to the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, which said it confirmed the attempts with eyewitnesses.
The Wall Street Journal wrote that the agents were rejected by people at the residences because they didn’t have warrants, according to the person. New York City officials said Sunday there was no indication that they had returned.”
Those attempted raids were the only reports of ICE activity the city had confirmed as of about 3 p.m. Sunday. And four immigrant hotlines were quiet as of Sunday afternoon, said a spokesperson for the Legal Aid Society, which runs one of the lines.
But city officials said they were still keeping an eye on the situation.
“We are working both on the ground and with numerous community partners to monitor, share, and respond to ICE activities throughout the five boroughs as they are reported through multiple rapid response hotlines,” Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Bitta Mostofi said in a statement.
Warnings that ICE agents were checking for identification at the West 72nd Street 1, 2, and 3 train station on the Upper West Side were posted to social media but later proved to be unfounded, according to the New York City Office of Immigration.
Elected officials have been scrambling to spread the word about New Yorkers’ rights when faced with an ICE agent after the federal government announced ten cities would be targets for raids on immigrants with orders to leave the United States.
New York City has set up a 311 hotline for immigrants to find out more information about their rights, which the Mayor included in his tweet.
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