Brooklyn Activists On Alert After Mysterious 'Immigration' Raids

BROOKLYN, NY — Activists are on high alert after officers appearing to be with immigration enforcement or the NYPD tried to raid two Brooklyn apartments last week.

Advocates with the group Sunset Park ICE Watch held a rally in Fort Greene on Sunday calling for the NYPD to confront the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency after agents who identified themselves as ICE, but were wearing NYPD jackets, tried to get into an apartment in the neighborhood.

The attempted raid was one of two in Brooklyn made by plainclothes agents last Wednesday. Both incidents, in Fort Greene and in Red Hook, resulted in no arrests, activists said.

Both the NYPD and ICE said they did not have a record of enforcement at the building, according to a Pix 11 report.

The mysterious Brooklyn raids are not the only time supposed immigration officers have identified themselves as NYPD to try and gain entry to homes in New York City, according to officials.

Just a day after the Brooklyn raids, immigration officers detained an Inwood man at work after posing as NYPD officers to try and get into his apartment and gather information from his wife. Elected officials rallied over the weekend to demand the man, a father of four, be released.

Mayor Bill de Blasio wrote a letter to the immigration agency on Friday asking that they stop the tactic. His administration has received "numerous reports" of ICE suggesting they are local police, or even NYPD officers from specific precincts or squads, to make an arrest.

"These types of activities jeopardize the willingness and comfort of immigrant New Yorkers in interacting with the NYPD on crucial matters involving public safety and local law enforcement," de Blasio wrote.

"The NYPD already conducts regular community outreach to immigrant community members to educate the public about our confidentiality policies for all victims and witnesses, regardless of immigration status. ICE actions that exacerbate confusion about NYPD’s work andrelationship to immigration enforcement are counterproductive to these efforts."

The recent incidents come after the threat of similar mass-raids last year. Those threats sent shockwaves through the immigrant community in Sunset Park, where agents made unsuccessful attempts at raids in July.