Port Washington Activist Shares Arrest Story — As ICE Watch Guard Group Details Mission

PORT WASHINGTON, NY — An activist group, Port Together, patrolling Port Washington, said it's working to keep immigrant neighbors safe.

Evan Freed, a 37-year-old Port Washington resident, said he has been part of Port Together since spring 2025 — he hopes to make a difference in the lives of his immigrant friends and community.

"I wanted to help support them with my unearned privilege as a white male," he said. "Now, I think the protection has expanded to the rights of all people in our country, but our immigrant neighbors are definitely most at risk."

Freed said he believes that migrants overstaying their visas is a civil issue, and not a criminal issue.

"Our community is made up of diverse people who deserve to find a chance at peace and happiness and freedom," he said. "It’s important to defend those even when it’s your own government. I hope what we do shows the power of the people."

Jeffrey Siegel of Port Washington said he became involved with the group over the summer when a beloved Port Washington resident and manager of Schmear Bagel and Cafe, Fernando Mejia, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Port Washington native said the group is instructed to watch and alert others, but not intervene in any physical way.

"We go out several times a day and look for suspicious behavior and vehicles," he said. "ICE doesn't like to be watched. I'm a photographer, so I take pictures. We're just there to watch them."

It was during that time period in June 2025 that Siegel became aware of the ICE population on Long Island. Siegel said what he is seeing reminds him of history– his father's side of the family are Holocaust survivors.

"I'm a son of a survivor," he said. "I've heard this before, and none of this is good. Because of my father's experience, I grew up in this atmosphere of being concerned and worried; it's like a low-level anxiety. For the most part, it remains dormant, but it got woken up when Trump started talking in 2015. We are in a horrifying position, and we need to redirect the present course of history."

He continued, sharing that his children are at the top of his mind. "I'm doing this for my kids," Siegel said. "My kids might see this resolved. I won't see it resolved, but it has to start somewhere. You never give up hope. As long as you can dream that it's better, it will eventually get better. We are the leaders we are looking for."

55-year-old Port Washington resident David Jon Chapman said he, too, became involved last June. He said he started showing up and leading chants at protests in April of 2025, and because his voice is loud, he was recruited by different organizations to appear at their protests.

His first time interacting with ICE was when he responded to an alert from one of the organizations that ICE was at the Huntington Manor Firehouse. Chapman was the only one who responded, and he "somehow managed to chase them out of there with my megaphone."

On why he's involved and looking out for his neighbors, he said he does it for the vulnerable immigrant community in his town.

"That’s how I was raised," he said. "When you have power, you use it to help those who have less, not to accumulate more."

Chapman shared with Patch the details of his arrest story and how he came face-to-face with ICE on Port Together patrol.

He said it began on Oct. 3, when he was patrolling Port Washington in the morning. He turned towards Manorhaven and wound up behind one of the ICE cars he said they chased out the day before. Chapman said he honked at the Ford Explorer in front of him, bringing attention and alerting passersby to what he believed was presumably ICE's presence.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond for comment when Patch reached out.

"The car I was following tried to brake check me, and it seemed like he wanted me to hit his car," he said. "He walked out and towards my window, but I didn't move. He had his handgun clipped to the center of his chest. It seemed like he wanted to get me out of the car, but I kept shouting, 'Get out of my town.'"

Chapman said at one point, the car turned onto a dead-end road near Sands Point, and Chapman did not feel safe to follow the armed, presumed ICE agent down the road. He said once he turned onto Barker's Point Road, "Nassau County Police Department cops were coming from every direction behind me, in front of me."

When the NCPD told him he was being placed under arrest, he said he obliged and spent the next 10 hours shackled to a bench in Manhasset, he said.

"I've never been arrested before, and I was confused about what I was arrested for," he said.

While chained to the bench, he said a man who could not speak English well communicated to him that he was in need of medicine.

"An ICE guy was talking to the man, and I heard the word 'epilepsy,' so I tried to tell the ICE officer that the man needed his medicine," Chapman said. "The ICE guy screamed at me."

Chapman said as they were moving him out of Manhasset, a sea of his supporters was outside rallying for him. He was moved to Mineola overnight and spent the night in a jail cell, and once woken up to get a cellmate. Chapman said he was arraigned the next morning on Oct. 4, 2025, in Hempstead in front of District Court Judge Marie McCormack. He was represented by Corva Law.

His arraignment paperwork showed he was charged with three misdemeanors, and all were dismissed due to a legal impediment to his prosecution, he said. Chapman explained that the basis for the legal impediment was that the charging document, the information that's supported by a supporting deposition by a federal ICE agent, contained false statements. The dismissal was per a joint motion filed by his attorney and the Nassau County DA's office, he said.

He pleaded guilty to an expired inspection sticker, which expired days before he was arrested, and paid a $25 fine, he said.

"NCPD was very polite," he added.

Corva Law told Patch:

"Dave was arrested because an ICE agent wanted to criminalize what was lawfully protected protest and was willing to lie to make it happen. We are pleased that all criminal charges against our client were dismissed in the interest of justice, but the arrest and prosecution never should have happened in the first place."

The Nassau County DA's office declined to comment. The NCPD was not immediately available for comment when Patch reached out.

Although he is anti-ICE, Chapman said he considers himself patriotic.

"To me, that is just a core American value," Chapman said. "Somewhere along the way, a lot of people were misled into believing it’s American to do what’s best for themselves in most any situation. Like, it’s tough not to stand up for people. It’s the most un-American thing I’ve ever heard. I’m an American capitalist and a patriotic Independent. I just don’t think capitalism and morality are mutually exclusive."

Along with volunteering in Port Together, Chapman said he was part of many recovery initiatives after 9/11, as he lived in Manhattan during that time. He said he hopes Americans can return to a state of caring for each other and not be pitted against one another.

"My wife and I volunteered in the following weeks, helping run supplies for the Ground Zero rescue operation," he said. "9/11 brought out the best in New Yorkers, so I’ve seen it. We cared for each other, no matter who we were."

Reflecting on how his immigrant families are feeling, Chapman said his upbringing allows him to use his privilege to speak out.

"We’re doing everything we can to help keep our neighbors safe and, hopefully, provide them with a little peace of mind, though I can’t imagine what Latino parents on Long Island are feeling right now," he said.

Chapman acknowledged he was raised in a white, upper-middle-class area, adding that even so, "this is not the Long Island I’ve known for most of my life."