Tensions Flare After ICE Agents Organize At LI Firehouse

BRENTWOOD, NY — Tensions are flaring on Long Island after ICE agents organized in a fire department parking lot in a predominantly Latino community last week, while ICE detains immigrants across the U.S. per the Trump administration's orders.

Last Thursday, ICE agents were seen using the parking lot of the Brentwood Fire Department's Broadway location as a "staging ground," according to community advocacy group Islip Forward.

Sen. Monica Martinez quickly confirmed ICE's presence at the fire department in a social media post on Friday, writing: "I have received several calls from constituents voicing their concerns in regard to reported presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel at one of the Brentwood firehouses. I reached out to the leadership of the Brentwood Fire District to obtain clarification.

"The fire district leadership confirmed that ICE personnel were present at one of their facilities. However, they assured me that the fire district is not collaborating with or participating in any federal enforcement operations."

Patch reached out to ICE and the Brentwood Fire Department, but they did not respond as of press time. Patch also reached out to Town of Islip officials, who said "ICE inquiries should be directed to the Suffolk County PD." SCPD stated that all ICE inquiries should be directed to them.

On Saturday, Brentwood Fire District officials issued a statement viewed by Patch that reads: "The Board of Fire Commissioners and Chiefs of the Brentwood Fire District has been made aware of recent social media posts concerning the presence of individuals reported as being ICE agents at a Brentwood Fire District property.

"The Brentwood Fire District, like all fire districts, does permit public agencies including law enforcement agencies to use our parking lots when necessary. However, we wish to clarify that we have no independent knowledge that ICE agents were present at a Brentwood Fire District Substation.

"Furthermore, we were never contacted by any federal, state or local law enforcement agency or any other branch of government regarding the use of any parking lot at any fire district location.

"The Brentwood Fire District is not a law enforcement agency. We are a fire rescue agency solely concerned with providing the very best emergency response to Brentwood residents in need of the same.

"The Brentwood Fire District is solely committed to serving the Brentwood community with transparency and response for all Brentwood residents of any race, ethnic background or creed."

On Sunday, community members gathered for a protest at the fire station to "demand ICE out of firehouses," according to Islip Forward representatives who attended the protest, along with Assemblyman Phil Ramos, who spoke to the crowd.

"We are calling on the leadership of the Brentwood Fire Department to conduct an internal investigation and to develop clear policies and procedures to prevent future incidents," Ramos told Patch. "If that does not happen, my office will explore other avenues to address the concerns of Brentwood’s tax-paying residents who fund and rely on this department."

Ahmad Perez, IF's executive director, shares Ramos' concerns.

"Our local firefighters are heroes — volunteers, 70 percent of whom are Latino—who run toward danger so the rest of us can run to safety," Perez told Patch. "Their stations should be sanctuaries of trust, not launchpads for fear. Yet ICE agents have been using Brentwood firehouses as staging grounds for raids that rip families apart. None of our firefighters signed up to help federal agents hunt down their own neighbors."

According to Perez, the Brentwood Board of Fire Commissioners "has both the authority and the obligation to end this." Perez said that under N.Y. Town Law § 176(19), "commissioners hold exclusive management and control of all fire-district property."

"We reached out to department leadership for dialogue. They hung up on us," Perez told Patch. "That silence speaks volumes. Leadership is stonewalling while rank-and-file firefighters—many from the very communities ICE is targeting — are left to shoulder the fallout."

Perez told Patch Islip Forward is making the following demands to the Brentwood Fire District Board of Commissioners:

1. Issue a formal directive prohibiting any non-emergency federal use of Brentwood Fire District facilities and parking lots.
2. Publicly confirm compliance with that directive so residents can regain confidence in their stations.
3. Engage the community at the next board meeting to explain how they will prevent future misuse of district property.

"ICE's operations within our community put public safety at risk by performing its activities at locations such as at our local fire departments, making their members targets of misinformation and community members scared to call for help," Martinez told Patch. "As made clear by the leadership of the fire districts, they were not informed in advance about the federal government's use of their site, and this situation should not be weaponized against our first responders for political purposes."

In late June, a lawsuit was filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York challenging Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman's agreement with ICE agents. It's the first lawsuit to take on the 287(g) statute in New York state, according to the New York Civil Liberties Union, which shared a copy of the suit on its site.

At issue is Blakeman giving the Nassau County Police Department a role in handling ICE activities, which includes having 10 detectives immediately join the ICE program he announced in February.