I am outraged by reports that our neighbors are being abducted by presumed federal immigration agents in Woodside. In recent days, masked agents have reportedly returned multiple times to the area around 37th Avenue and 69th Street and kidnapped community members – including an incident on Saturday at Hart Playground. These are our streets, our parks and the places where our families and children should be able to live their lives without fear. Our office is working to gather additional information about these incidents, and we will share further details as they become available.

What we are witnessing is a deliberate campaign of fear and intimidation directed at immigrant communities here in Queens and across our city. No one should have to fear that going to work, taking their child to a playground, or simply walking through their own neighborhood could end with them being taken away by masked agents. Our immigrant neighbors are part of the fabric of Woodside and of New York City, and they deserve the same safety, dignity and fundamental rights as everyone else.

I have stood with immigrant New Yorkers against ICE’s cruel enforcement tactics, including being arrested in civil disobedience protesting these abuses. Our communities will not be intimidated into silence. I will never stop fighting for immigrant justice and due process, because we have much more to do to resist the brutality of the federal government. We cannot allow fear, cruelty and the abduction of our neighbors to become normalized in our city or our country. We must continue to stand against these authoritarian abuses and uphold democracy over demagoguery, due process over fear, and the Constitution over cruelty.