CROWN HEIGHTS — HOUSEKEEPING STAFF in Crown Heights were stopped and detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during an early morning crackdown on illegal immigration on Tuesday. The raids, part of a national operation led by newly appointed Department of Homeland Security head Kristi Noem, began shortly after 5 a.m. in multiple locations across the city.
Although Trump administration officials have previously said that the raids are intended to target violent criminals, voice recordings shared with COLLive.com indicate that several domestic workers were stopped and questioned, with at least one detained near Lefferts Avenue. ICE has not disclosed the number of arrests made in the neighborhood.
“I was so scared – I just stayed quiet, like I was told to do. Another woman with me was taken into the van,” one woman recounted. Another described ICE agents approaching her near Sterling Street, asking for identification, and said, “I was shaking – I’m still shaking while working. I was so scared.”
City and state officials pledged to monitor the situation to ensure due process is followed, including Mayor Eric Adams, Governor Kathy Hochul, and state Attorney General Letitia James.
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