A number of Black and Latino elected officials and community leaders gathered in East Elmhurst Monday evening to rally against what they described as a surge in ICE activity in the surrounding area in recent weeks and launch a week of bilingual “Know Your Rights” pop-ups.
The rally, organized by Assemblymember Larinda Hooks, took place on Aug. 17 at Barclay Triangle in East Elmhurst, a neighborhood which Hooks said is home to both a civil rights legacy and generations of immigrant families. She said federal immigration authorities have ramped up enforcement in the neighborhood over the last month.
Hooks was joined by several elected officials for the rally, including Assembly Members Catalina Cruz, Jessica González-Rojas, Alicia Hyndman and Clyde Vanel as well as Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry. A number of community organizations, including Make the Road NY, the New York Immigration Coalition, the NAACP, Las Doñas and Hands Off NYC, also joined the rally.
Hooks charged that ICE activity dramatically increased in the area in July, with 14 pick-ups reported along Astoria Boulevard and Northern Boulevard across the month compared to just two in June…