A town board meeting in New York quickly derailed after officials denied a motion to stop ICE officers from using a rifle range in the community.
Shouts of “shame” could be heard after the ruling during the board meeting on Tuesday in Islip, New York, while another person can be seen approaching the members, telling them, “you should be embarrassed, truly.”
Officials had heard passionate pleas from residents who wanted to end a contract that allows ICE officers to train at their local rifle range.
News of ICE’s use of the rifle range first made headlines in July. “The Town’s Rifle Range is one of the very few such facilities on Long Island and serves a vital role in the training of individuals from law enforcement agencies including but not limited to Nassau County Police, Sheriffs and DA … U.S. Treasury, Farmingdale Police Department and the NYS Park Police,” Republican Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter told the New York Post at the time. The Daily Beast has contacted Carpenter for comment.
Run by Homeland Security, ICE has used the Islip rifle range since 2008 for long firearms qualification training, and has authorization to continue using the facility until June next year.
Following public backlash, Islip officials released a statement to counter “misinformation” that clarified the rifle range has been used for training by law enforcement agencies for over 20 years. It continued, “Those attempting to politicize this matter are unnecessarily causing more distrust of our Law Enforcement agencies, especially in communities that are already vulnerable and underreporting crimes.”
Islip Councilman Jorge Guadrón’s resolution wanted access to the rifle range for ICE officers suspended until the town board could determine community concerns over the conduct of ICE officers had been adequately addressed.
Guadrón noted during the meeting the “fear, trauma, and destabilization of immigrant families and local businesses” and wanted to safeguard “the mental integrity and well-being of the constituents of the town.”
When the motion to pass his resolution failed at the end of the lengthy meeting, residents shouted “wow,” “you truly are so awful” and “shame on you” at the councilors, before authorities stepped in diffuse the situation.
Prior to the rejection of the resolution, a string of residents explained how “brutal ICE agent thugs” were “terrorizing our community,” and said the city was taking “ICE blood money” by letting them rent the range.
A Latino resident said, “it’s telling that Councilman Guadrón, the only Latino elected to this board, is also the only one advocating to keep all residents safe, not just those with privilege.”
The Town of Islip website notes of the El Savador-born Guadrón, “as an immigrant who has worked hard to realize the American Dream for himself and his family, Guadrón is convinced that everyone’s American Dream starts in their hometown.”
One resident, aged 80, said at the meeting, “ICE is a different kind of entity than any of the police agencies that we know here. They don’t have identification. They are masked. They are swathed. You don’t know who they are. They could be anybody.”
She continued, “This is fascism. That is what we are witnessing. And if we don’t speak out now, we won’t be able to speak out later. Please end the contract with Homeland Security for ICE to train on this range.”
Another woman compared ICE to the Nazi regime, stating, “Some of the people being picked up by ICE here have been here for 10, 20, or 30 years and have been reporting regularly for their immigration appointments. They’re not rapists and murderers. They’re students, landscapers, cleaning ladies, and even a bagel store manager. They’ve committed no crimes.”
One resident said, “It breaks my heart to see people have sold themselves out to this kind of regime,” while another called them the “American Gestapo.”
The Daily Beast has contacted Councilman Guadrón, Supervisor Angie Carpenter and Homeland Security for comment.
On Sunday, around 150 people attended the “Ice Out of Islip” protest, after ICE agents were seen training on the town’s rifle range last month.
Not all were in favor of the resolution, however. “I voted for Trump. I want Trump,” said another resident. “I want him to get rid of the illegal immigrants in this country.” The man waved photos of houses near him that he claimed were “packed with people,” before saying when he grew up in the 1960s Spanish wasn’t taught in schools.
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