Two people detained by ICE in Greenport this weekend
Two people were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a “targeted” car stop in Greenport Saturday, July 26, at around 9:30 a.m.
Southold Police Chief Steven Grattan confirmed the ICE activity in Greenport with a Homeland Security employee Saturday afternoon. He said the agents were looking for “a specific target who had a final removal order” and took that person and another passenger in the car into custody. Chief Grattan said he had no further information about the identities of the people detained by ICE this weekend.
A final removal order is an order issued by a federal immigration judge that permits ICE to deport the person within 90 days of its issuance. It requires noncitizens to leave the United States.
The incident was not observed by any Southold police officers, but Chief Grattan said officers in the area scoped out Greenport for ICE agents after residents reported the stop. He said those officers “never located” any ICE agents after the morning sighting. No businesses or homes were entered by those agents, Chief Grattan said when asked about the information reported about the incident.
“They don’t inform us when they’re coming out and they didn’t on Saturday,” Chief Grattan said of ICE. “But I’m just pleased that I was able to get in touch with somebody to confirm that it was in fact immigration officers out in Greenport.”
According to Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC Reports) — a data gathering, research and data distribution organization that was founded in 1989 at Syracuse University and tracks federal government staffing, spending and enforcement activities — immigration judges issued 45,902 removal orders in June 2025. Last month, TRAC reported 36,737 people were booked into ICE detention.
How to prepare for or report ICE activity
To report any unusual activity or concerns of ICE activity, community members can text the Latino Advocacy Organization (OLA of Eastern Long Island) hotline at 631-500-5001. Neighbors can also get involved with the organization’s rapid response network by texting that number with information about who they are and why they want to be a part of it.
“We just want to make sure that in the event there’s some actions happening, we just have more people there to document … not to obstruct justice … and be available in that moment for some of the families that might be caught off guard and they suddenly now need some support,” Minerva Perez, president of OLA of Eastern Long Island, said.
Ms. Perez stressed the importance of having an emergency plan to give noncitizens options to take care of family members left behind in the event of deportation, such as children or loved ones in need of a caretaker.
For information and inquires about setting up an emergency plan, call OLA’s main line at 631-899-3441. Emergency plans are kept confidential by you and your trusted circle.
One option families have is to plan for a standby guardianship in the event both parents are deported. This gives a trusted person temporary guardianship for another person’s child if a specific event happens. Legal guardians maintain full parental rights and can cancel or revoke the guardianship at any time. The guardianship can be executed with a notary, which OLA has on hand in the event it is needed.
“These kinds of things have to be worked out right now,” Ms. Perez said. “So, that way in the moment that something’s happening, it’s not the moment you’re trying to figure it all out.”
Standby guardianship can be an intimidating scenario to plan out. Ms. Perez said one noncitizen mother who had set up a standby guardianship became too overwhelmed by the idea of deportation and left the country with her child.
“That’s a heartbreak, because everyone was doing really well,” she said of the family. “The dad had been here for years and years sort of establishing stuff, establishing business. [He] was in the process of full documentation, but just that fear alone became too real when we all sat down together [with the two families].”
Other personal needs, like healthcare such as cancer treatment, kidney transplants or adolescent terminal illnesses, or helping children who require special needs services, are things OLA can help discuss emergency plans for.
“Nothing goes to sleep while immigration happens. The rest of these things are happening,” Ms. Perez said.
OLA’s Immigration Legal Services program provides free legal services and representation to eligible East End community members. Immigration attorneys and legal advocates who work with the program help clients regularize their immigration status in cases involving lawful permanent residency, work visas, U and T visas, special immigrant juvenile status, the Violence Against Women Act, asylum, removal and more.
When OLA cannot accept a case, the organization partners with other trusted immigration attorneys and nonprofit organizations to connect community members to the legal services they need. For information about OLA’s advocacy and legal services, visit olaofeasternlongisland.org/legal-services.
