GREENPORT — Federal immigration authorities conducted two operations in Columbia County on Tuesday, advocates said, one of which resulted in four people being detained in what may have been the largest immigration enforcement operation in the county.
Columbia County Sanctuary Movement Executive Director Bryan MacCormack said his organization received an alert around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday about a vehicle stop near Cedar Park Cemetery in Hudson. At the stop, four men from Latin America were detained by immigration officers, said MacCormack, who declined to disclose their identities, immigration status or possible criminal histories, citing confidentiality concerns.
The nonprofit had limited details, including how many officers were involved, because no photos or videos had surfaced and the organization had not been able to communicate directly with the detainees. However, MacCormack said he confirmed the men were in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility by looking up their “alien registration numbers” — assigned by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to noncitizens — in ICE’s online detainee locator…