EXCLUSIVE: Greenport men arrested by ICE were Shelter Island worker, Pindar employees

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated with information about the men’s location, legal proceedings and a comment from ICE officials.

The three men arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Greenport last week are longtime North Fork residents who have worked at East End businesses for years — but federal officials say all three entered the United States illegally.

Hugo Leonel Ardon Osorio has been employed by a Shelter Island masonry company for about 20 years, while Alexandro Rivera Magaña and Martir Zambrano Diaz worked at Pindar Vineyards in Peconic, according to their employers and co-workers. They remain in ICE custody at an undisclosed facility.

ICE officials said the sweep was intended to apprehend a convicted felon, though the agency did not specify which of the three detained men was the subject of that criminal investigation.

“On Feb. 4, ICE New York City conducted operations targeting a known criminal illegal alien convicted of aggravated DWI with a child/passenger less than 16 — a felony — in Greenport,” an ICE spokesperson told Patch on Monday. The agency did not provide details about when or where the alleged infraction occurred.

ICE told the outlet that Mr. Zambrano Diaz was from Honduras and was previously removed from the U.S. in 1998 after reentering illegally, committing a felony. The agency said he “provided a false name to ICE officers in an attempt to obscure the fact that he committed a felony and is subject to federal prosecution” for the illegal reentry.

However, a federal habeas corpus petition filed Sunday on behalf of Mr. Zambrano Diaz in U.S. District Court in New Jersey directly contradicts ICE’s account. The court filing states that Mr. Zambrano Diaz is a 50-year-old native of El Salvador — not Honduras as ICE claimed — who arrived in the United States in 2001 and “has never been arrested or convicted of any crime.”

The petition, filed by immigration attorneys Peter Kapitonov and S. Michael Musa-Obregon, also states that Mr. Zambrano Diaz has lived on the East End for over 23 years, contradicting ICE’s claim that he was removed from the U.S. in 1998 and illegally reentered.

The conflicting accounts could not immediately be reconciled. ICE representatives did not return multiple requests for comment from The Suffolk Times.

The agency said Mr. Ardon Osorio, from Guatemala, and Mr. Rivera Magaña, from El Salvador, “both admitted they illegally crossed the border with Mexico in violation of U.S. immigration law” but did not allege any criminal history for either man.

The Suffolk Times could not independently verify ICE’s claims through court records.

Minerva Perez, executive director of OLA of Eastern Long Island, disputed ICE’s characterization of the men. Her organization released a statement shortly after their arrests saying, “At this point, we know they have no criminal background, [and] have been here for more than 20 years.”

All three men were located last Thursday, according to Ms. Perez. She declined to disclose their specific whereabouts.

“[These men are] the breadwinners,” Ms. Perez told The Suffolk Times. “We’ve got family members now in our community in Greenport that don’t have their breadwinners, and beyond the money, [their] dad’s gone.”

Southold Town Police Chief Steven Grattan said his department was not notified ICE agents would be conducting operations in the area prior to their arrival.

Mr. Ardon Osorio was on his way to work, catching an early boat, when he was detained at the North Ferry terminal about 6:30 a.m. on Feb. 4, according to his boss.

He works at Marcello Masonry on North Ferry Road on Shelter Island, owner Bobby Marcello told Suffolk Times’ sister publication The Shelter Island Reporter in an exclusive interview. He said Mr. Ardon Osorio has held jobs as a driver and a construction worker with his firm “for about 20 years.”

“He’s a stand-up guy in every respect,” Mr. Marcello said. “Works hard all the time. When he can’t get a sitter for his kids, they stay with my kids. He’s around my house a lot.” 

Mr. Ardon Osorio and his spouse had just celebrated the birth of a daughter, he added.

Mr. Rivera Magaña and Mr. Zambrano Diaz also live in Greenport and work at Pindar, a source with knowledge of the situation told The Suffolk Times. A GoFundMe campaign has been launched for the two men by Christopher Romano, who identified himself as a co-worker at the Peconic vineyard.

The Suffolk Times has reached out to the winery’s owner, Pindar Damianos, for comment.

Mr. Zambrano Diaz has worked at Pindar for 23 years, according to Mr. Romano.

“Martir is known for his kindness, strong work ethic and positive attitude. He shows up every day ready to work and help wherever he is needed,” Mr. Romano wrote.

Mr. Rivera Magaña was hired by the winery in 2023 and serves as the vineyard foreman, according to Mr. Romano.

“His absence has been felt not only by his coworkers, but across the entire operation that relies on his leadership,” Mr. Romano wrote on GoFundMe.

The GoFundMe campaign for the two men had raised nearly $8,500 as of Tuesday.

Another fundraiser for Mr. Rivera Magaña, launched on SpotFund, said he has a family that includes a son with severe autism and another 5-year-old child.

“The family left behind by Alexandro has immediate needs to help with food and rent because he was the financial provider of the home,” wrote Anita Boyer, a Greenport resident who organized the fundraiser. 

Ms. Boyer added: “Until we can get him back home, we are asking the community to do whatever they can to help his wife and two kids. All money raised goes to food and rent for this family. Everything is so deeply appreciated and we hope to be able to bring Alexandro home quickly and safely.”

That campaign had raised $5,640 as of Tuesday.

Ms. Boyer launched another SpotFund campaign for Mr. Ardon Osorio. It had raised over $5,000 as of Tuesday, according to the site.

Ms. Perez said fighting deportation cases remains “extremely difficult” for families and legal costs could reach $20,000. OLA plans to cover legal fees “up to a certain degree,” she added. 

The organization has two full-time immigration lawyers currently handling full caseloads. However, Ms. Perez said they “always have room for priority situations.”

“Detention is a whole other ball game — you have to work so quickly and, often times, be able to sort of drop everything, have other paralegals gather information, set up appointments, talk to facilities [to see] where [the detainees] are, make sure that they’re there,” Ms. Perez said. “We are hoping that these cases are going to be viable.”

OLA has money set aside in a fund through a private family — separate from its state and county funding or community donations — dedicated to hiring immigration lawyers in detention cases. Ms. Perez said the group is open to collaborating with attorneys from the Long Island Hispanic Bar Association and possibly bringing on pro bono attorneys to support these three cases.

The arrests sparked an anti-ICE protest at Greenport’s Mitchell Park last Sunday attended by more than 100 people. It was organized by Rosario Rodriguez, a local filmmaker from Greenport, along with Maria Soriano and Ms. Boyer.

Other anti-ICE demonstrations were held throughout the East End and nationwide the previous week following the death of Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by federal agents during an immigration enforcement action in Minnesota last month.