Elmont leaders continue to call for justice as immigrants are targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and deported to countries marred by war and civil strife.
Advocates say that most immigrants are not criminals and consistently follow the law, but are forced to endure what they describe as inhumane conditions at the hands of law enforcement.
At an interfaith vigil called Our Huddled Masses Breathing Fear at Gloria Dei Evangelical Lutheran Church, in Huntington Station, on July 1, religious leaders representing the Lutheran, Presbyterian, Catholic and Jewish faiths called for an end to the forced deportations.
Each speaker echoed the same sentiment — no human being is illegal. Among them was Mimi Pierre-Johnson, an Elmont activist and the founder of the Elmont Cultural Center, whose ongoing efforts to support the Haitian community have led her to take part in several rallies across Long Island.
Pierre-Johnson expressed her concern for Haitian immigrants, who she says frequently visit supermarkets in Elmont to collect bottles and deposit them for extra money. They are disappearing without a trace, she said.
One woman in particular, who Pierre-Johnson says is well known in the community for collecting bottles, has been missing for weeks, with no explanation.
“I don’t know what happened to her the day I took this picture,” Pierre-Johnson said, holding a photo of the woman pushing a large cart of empty bottles.
Many immigrants are confused when they are arrested, Pierre-Johnson added, saying that many of them are being detained as they attend routine immigration hearings.
“To see yourself getting ready to go and speak with your lawyer,” Pierre-Johnson said, “to go in front of a judge and get manhandled like an animal — that is the fear.”
The deportation process, activists said, is lengthy and cruel. Two young men from Central Islip — Jose and Josue Trejo Lopez — were snatched by ICE officers during a routine court hearing, and ultimately deported to their home country, El Salvador, just before Josue’s high school graduation. The brothers took part in the vigil via Zoom, and Jose shared their harrowing story.
Jose, 20, and Josue, 19, appeared for their hearing on March 12. When they arrived, an ICE officer told them, “Good luck,” which made Jose uneasy. “I just knew something was going to happen,” he recalled.
Two days later, the brothers were called back and informed of a 9-year-old deportation order, which stemmed from the denial of a 2016 asylum request by their mother, Alma Lopez. The family had fled gang violence in El Salvador when Jose and Josue were only 11 and 10.
They were arrested on March 14 and held for nine hours at Manhattan’s Federal Plaza Immigration Court, Jose recounted, before being transferred to a detention facility in upstate Buffalo, where they spent nearly two months.
“It felt like an eternity being separated from our family,” Jose said.
He described being denied sufficient water, food, hygiene products and showers, enduring racist remarks from guards and inhumane sleeping conditions. Speaking out about the guards’ abuses led to isolation, he said.
“Basically, you have no contact with anybody,” he said. “It’s just you.”
After their attorney, Ala Amoachi, of East Islip, intervened, the brothers were reunited. They were then transferred to a Louisiana facility on May 2. Jose said they were shackled by their hands, waist and feet for flights totaling 16 hours from Buffalo, and given only one bathroom break.
In Louisiana, they spent five days without a shower, used freezing metal toilets, which many detainees avoided, and, Jose said, weren’t given clean water. One night, he recalled, he was so thirsty that he drank from a contaminated fountain and became sick.
The brothers were finally flown to El Salvador on May 7.
The hardest part, Jose said, is that they have lived in the U.S. for over 10 years, and they consider it home. Now, he said, the brothers have to leave behind all of their accomplishments, including Josue’s enrollment in Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and their mentorship of younger members of their evangelical Christian church in Georgia, where their mother still resides.
“We’re not criminals,” he said. “We went to that check-in on March 12 because we were following the law. But now if you go to your court hearing, you don’t know if you’re going to be detained.”
The Rev. Edy Bichotte, a senior pastor at Bethany French Baptist Church in Elmont, who is of Haitian descent, said that those being targeted by ICE are law-abiding immigrants. It is inhumane to treat anyone this way, Bichotte said, adding that he fears for the safety of his people.
“These are drastic decisions without due process,” he said of the mass deportations. “I’m really concerned about our people. It’s a scary time for them.”
Bichotte also pointed out that despite what the Trump administration says, Haiti is not prepared to receive such a large wave of immigrants. He stressed that he and his fellow Haitians want to return someday when it’s safe, but now is not the time.
“People left for many reasons,” Bichotte said, explaining that gang violence pervades the country. “So now that you have to send them back, where do they go? It’s a dark time.”
He said he hoped that those in positions of power — like senators and congressmen — understand that immigrants come to the U.S. to escape violence and, in return, work hard in essential industries, helping to support the economy. Public officials should listen to the immigrant community, he said, and bring them stability.
“I will pray for the government to do this differently,” Bichotte said. “We hope some politicians try to find a way to speak to the administration and give them a break, because they come here to live.”
