U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents shown interest in New York communities as well this year and arrested many people over the past 12 months.
There are opposition and support of these practices not only throughout the country but in this area. Some feel the agents are coming into homes without a warrant and committing illegal searches, while others feel they are protecting the border and removing illegal residents from the area.
Some feel the community is at risk of being unsafe and people who are targeted have no protection from the agents. Towns such as Ossining, White Plains, Mt. Kisco, Tarrytown, Peekskill, Port Chester and Scarsdale have seen ICE involvement in the past six months.
There has also been reports of what was believed to be ICE that turned out to be false in White Plains and Peekskill as false. But an arrest of a Port Chester Ecuadorian volunteer fire fighter last month has shaken up the local community.
Professor of Criminal Justice, Illya Lichtenberg finds ICE’s actions are revolting against certain people in America and affects the safety of the community.
“The invasion of ICE that has happened for months is affecting people’s lives and impacts families who are not aware of the situation,” said Lichtenberg.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal agency responsible for enforcing laws or crime and deporting undocumented immigrants. They are part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security tasked with interior enforcement including detaining and removing individuals from the U.S. The department was created in 2003 as a response to the terroristic attacks of 9/11.
“Without the brave heroes of ICE, we would have no enforcement, no laws, no borders and therefore – we wouldn’t even have a country,” said President Donald Trump in 2018.
In January 2025, Immigration officers were active in Westchester with notably activity of raids reported in Peekskill and Sleepy Hollow during the month. White Plains was the first county in Westchester to report ICE arrest three months later.
ICE agents are not considered as traditional police officers but often wear vests that say “police” in order for them to identify themselves during operations. They conduct investigations on targeted workplaces and raid homes that are sometimes distinct from the local law enforcement. Police enforce criminal law while ICE enforced immigration law, and those two distinctions become murky in legal situations.
Mercy Student, Olga Cortes-Hearld believes the strategy of the immigration policy is raising concerns to people of her culture.
“As someone who immigrated to the United States, it’s terrifying to see people who are not from here targeted by these officers and taken away for no reason,” said Olga.
ICE needs a judicial warrant to enter premises, an issue that has raised a lot of concern across the country. Administrative warrants do not allow them to enter someone’s home. No one is forced to speak to them, as everyone has the right to remain silent. Because New York in a sanctuary state, the NYPD typically does not assist in these investigations, which is in the difference in states like Florida and Texas. And while can knock and not be allowed into a home without a judicial warrant, they can approach and detain people in public spaces. Some gray areas exist like business and apartment lobbies, and more recently, court houses.
Recent ICE reports have targeted individuals who are part of the Latino community, mostly males that are disproportionately arrested. “… a number of immigration lawyers who speak multiple languages,” Village Mayor Rika Levin said in 2025. According to census statistics from the City of White Plains, 32 percent identify as Hispanic or Latino, with 31 percent being foreign born.
Many individuals targeted have happened in their vehicles, at their job and during routine check-ins other than their homes. Around 7 percent of the arrests in New York involve individuals without a criminal conviction or previous record. “… our focus remains on maintaining public safety and minimizing any disruption to the community,” Yonkers Police Department said in 2025.
The agents alleged individuals to be gang members or those with prior convictions of assault and previous deportation orders. The confusion of the individuals targeted impacts how ICE is able to identify the alleged and are they just committing vicious activities for no reason. “Of those arrested…more than three dozen illegal aliens with convictions or criminal records were released…,” Field officer director of ERO New York Thomas R. Decker said in 2018.
Mercy Student, Leonel Martinez, says ICE is benefiting the safety of trust of local communities.
“Certain areas that I’ve been to are invaded by immigration officers and sometimes it can feel like you and your family are at risk of being deported from America,” said Martinez.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) effects on the community has led to demonstrators such as religious leaders and advocates to rally across the county to remove ICE presence in New Rochelle and White Plains. The actions have led to calls for greater protection of immigrant residents, county halls, and debates over neighboring areas.
Supporters say the U.S. has a legal immigration process and people have broken it, and that allows people who can’t be identified to be in the country and possibly commit crimes. Many feel every country has the right to control who enters and stays, and that borders must be protected. Those who immigrated legally state they paid fees and waited for years while others have cut the line.
“We want them to be able to live in a society that upholds the rule of law… we have to take action on it,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in 2025.
Other issues that are debated on both sides are drug trafficking, human trafficking, racism, terrorism and human rights.
White Plains County Council received a resolution on March 4 to establish records of supported immigrants and denounce the identity of Immigration agents. The county also is enforcing a state law on the Immigration Protection Act which restricts local resources from being used of immigration enforcement.
The community is sheltered with fear and is making people avoid coming outside or going to work that could benefit their citizenship. “Some rumors were inaccurate…claims that agents went door-to-door or entered businesses,” Mount Kisco Mayor Michael Cindrich said in 2026. Residents are hoping for a better change of the situation and stopping ICE from attacking the neighborhood. “…Hard-working people who work and contribute to our society…want the freedoms and rights we have as Americans,” White Plains Mayor Justin Brasch said in 2026.
Lichtenberg discusses the potential of ICE being restructured from local areas to restore the openness of the environment.
“The idea of restructuring ICE allows the county to issue a call to action and bring the immigrated residents home from the invasion,” said Lichtenberg.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is currently targeting enforcement (TARGETING ENFORCEMENT) and retracted plans for a detention facility in nearby Westchester. Agents have expanded actions in Port Chester focusing on individuals with criminal records.
