At Rep. Suozzi's Town Hall, Tempers Flare Over Detention Centers

HUNTINGTON, NY — U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi's town hall meeting Monday night quickly turned contentious between the Democrat and members of the audience over the detention of immigrant children at the U.S.-Mexico border.

In a video of the town hall posted to the congressman's Facebook page, Suozzi said one attendee came with a sign reading: "Shame. Rep. Suozzi, how are you solving this problem?"

Another attendee carried a sign calling Suozzi a "DINO," an acronym for "Democrat in name only," and others wore Mylar blankets, similar to what migrant children in immigration camps wear, Huntington Now reported.

When Suozzi asked how many people wanted to talk about the southern border, much of the room raised a hand. After one person let out a loud "woo," another attendee shouted "impeachment," leading to loud cheers and applause.

But it didn't take long for some in the audience to direct they're ire at Suozzi.

Shortly thereafter, one audience member interrupted the congressman as he was introducing himself, shouting "You were 20 minutes late! Stop filibustering! People came here to ask questions!" The disruption prompted more cheers and applause, and led to a sharp back-and-forth between the two men, with Suozzi at one point accusing the attendee of spreading lies about him and trying to verbally"attack" him from the back of the room.

The man sought to "get in his last blows before he leaves" off Long Island, Suozzi said. He also accused the man of sending "very nasty, inaccurate posts" about the congressman, including pictures of Suozzi giving a thumbs-up in front of detention centers at the U.S.-Mexico border.

"It was very harsh and rude and a complete misrepresentation of my position," Suozzi said.

He was immediately shouted down by audience members, with one shouting "it's true!" and another yelling "My grandparents were in concentration camps! Don't talk to me about concentration camps, Tom!"

The crowd once again jeered when Suozzi said he was a part of the problem-solvers caucus. The bipartisan group of lawmakers is evenly divided between 20 Republicans and 20 Democrats and seeks to find common ground between the two parties to tackle issues. The slew of interruptions prompted Suozzi to plead with the crowd to avoid holding what he called a "Trump rally," referring to the often combative and sometimes violent campaign events held by President Donald Trump.

"This is not a rally," said Suozzi. "Election Day is not tomorrow. Everybody can do their organizing and protesting and everything else, I'm all for that. But let's try to have a conversation tonight about what's going on in our country."

But another heated back-and-forth ensued when the audience pressed Suozzi on the issue of children being held in detention centers. The crowd again cheered when two women asked him where the migrant girls are being held and why he couldn't visit the camps. The former Glen Cove mayor said that while he couldn't visit all of them — he estimated the total at roughly 55 — he plans to visit a Texas detention center Friday. He also railed at the conditions in U.S. Border Patrol facilities, where detainees are meant to be held for only a few days at most.

"They're being held in substandard, inhumane conditions," he said of the migrants. "They don't have access to bathrooms. Showers. Proper toiletries. People are standing up next to each other. It's an awful, terrible, rotten situation that must be un-American."

Suozzi also acknowledged many of his constituents were upset over a bipartisan House vote last week on a $4.6 billion bill that also passed in the Senate. He said that while Democrats wanted more restrictions on how the money could be spent, the GOP-led Senate said it would not acquiesce to the changes, and would instead go to recess for the 4th of July holiday.

The supplemental bill provides money to address the humanitarian crisis at the southern border, protecting children, improving inhumane conditions for migrants and expanding migrant due process. That includes nearly $1 billion for care, food, medical services and safe transportation for migrants. It included no money for the wall, said Suozzi.

A message seeking a statement from Suozzi wasn't immediately returned.

Patch staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.