• 2025-11-07 01:27:20
• Gun Violence

WESTHAMPTON BEACH, NY — Outraged residents have turned to social media to express their concerns after a surge of ICE activity in Westhampton Beach and Hampton Bays Wednesday.

Large, unmarked SUVs in dark and silver colors were seen at multiple locations, including 7-Eleven in Westhampton Beach and the King Kullen parking lot in Hampton Bays.

According to Minerva Perez, executive director of OLA of Eastern Long Island, a Latino advocacy organization, it is believed that about six or seven individuals were detained and arrested in the Hampton Bays area and, possibly, four in Westhampton Beach.

Representatives of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to a request for comment from Patch.

Southampton Town Police Chief James Kiernan spoke with Patch. "ICE did have a presence in the Town on Wednesday," he said.

Speculation was swirling on social media about a man possibly being struck by an ICE vehicle at the 7-Eleven parking lot in Westhampton Beach.

Kiernan said that he did hear a "rumor about someone being hit by a car but it seems that that information is not accurate as far as we know."

Kiernan said there is a photo circulating "but the narrative seems wrong."

Perez told Patch that there is a photo circulating of a man on the ground by the wheel of a car but that was a photo taken during a separate, unrelated incident and not taken during the activity in Westhampton Beach.

According to Kiernan, the Southampton Town Police Department "was not aware of the activity prior to it starting but became involved when ICE agents called an ambulance for one of the people arrested that was complaining of difficulty breathing," he said. "It appears as though they came to execute warrants and were out of town by late morning."

Perez confirmed that someone in the Westhampton Beach parking lot was taken to the hospital for treatment, but said the injury was not serious and they were released.

The ICE activity sparked discontent and unease in the bucolic East End communities.

One resident told Patch that parents in the Westhampton Beach area were concerned about students going to and from school in the area of the Mill Road 7-Eleven, which, she said, was "swarmed."

Kristina Gale took the photo above in the King Kullen parking lot in Hampton Bays. "I took this photo because it was a large, unexpected operation in a public place and people were concerned. What bothered me was that none of the agents seemed to show any clear ID — just tactical gear and generic 'Police' patches. Since anyone can buy that online, it's important for the community to know who's actually involved when something this intense happens."

Furious residents are fighting back: A protest, "ICE Out of Hampton Bays!" has been planned for Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. on Main Street in Hampton Bays, across from the Hampton Bays Fire Department.

Another resident voiced her thoughts about the ICE activity: "Today my heart was broken, truly broken, to know that ICE was in my community reounding up people," said Marion Boden of Hampton Bays. "My neighbors. People I have grown to love over the years. I saw a video in which two women were scampering like frightened hunted human beings. We are all God's children and deserve to be treated with dignity."

"I'm furious," Anita Boyer wrote. Boyer said she was upset to see the ICE agents organizing at the Hampton Bays Firehouse; in a video provided by Boyer, multiple agents and their vehicles were seen at the firehouse.

"It's horrifying that ICE is here and so unnecessary and wrong that the fire department is letting them organize on their property," Boyer said. "How is an immigrant or anyone who isn't white-skinned supposed to feel safe calling the fire department now?"

Boyer said she planned to protest outside the firehouse Friday.

Hampton Bays Fire Department officials did not respond to a request for comment.