ICE Nears 100 Raids In Queens Since Trump Took Office: Study

QUEENS, NY -- Queens is in the midst of a massive Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdown under the latest White House Administration, according to a new study that found ICE raids have spiked 72 percent in the borough under Donald Trump's presidency.

Queens County has seen nearly 100 ICE raids since President Trump took office, roughly a third of which happened at or near the Queens County Criminal Court in Kew Gardens, according to ICEwatch, an interactive map showing raids reported to The Immigrant Defense Project over the last five years.

The map, a collaboration between IDP and the Center for Constitutional Rights, shows ICE agents have conducted 131 raids in Queens since 2013, and 94 of them have happened since President Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, 2017.

The Queens raids are among nearly 700 done by ICE agents across New York City during the first year and a half under the Trump administration, a 30 percent increase from previously mapped years, according to the study released in late July.

Senior attorneys with both organizations said the map was released to expose the "dehumanizing tactics" ICE uses to arrest illegal immigrants.

“ICEwatch shines a light on ICE's program of terrorizing communities through raids, ruses, home invasions, courthouse arrests, and other forms of coercion,” said CCR Senior Attorney Ghita Schwarz.

“By demonstrating the wide reach of ICE's destructive and unlawful tactics, we hope to educate and empower immigrants and allies."

Raids on the map are defined as any instance where ICE agents arrest, or attempt to arrest, a non-citizen. Each dot on the map represents the approximate location, along with a brief description of the circumstances.

Users can filter through ICE raids by location or six different "enforcement tactics" highlighted on the map, including: warantless home entry, using force or ruses to enter a home, use of surveillance, an increase in courthouse raids and increase in collateral arrests.

In Queens, nearly 40 percent of ICE raids under Trump's administration have been at homes across the borough, according to the study. Kew Gardens saw the highest concentration of raids at 35, almost all of which happened in or near the Queens County Criminal Courthouse.

An ICE spokesperson did not immediately respond to Patch's request for comment.

Lead photo by John Moore/Getty Images