25 percent of students absent from LI school district due to reported ICE activity
GREENPORT, Suffolk County (WABC) -- The Greenport School District in Suffolk County said 25 percent of its students were absent from school on Wednesday after reports of ICE activity in the community.
The ICE arrests in the area lead to new fears for residents and parents who were worried and kept their children at home.
The superintendent said the district made the decision to operate as a "closed campus for lunch for grades 7-12" so that students felt safe and secure.
The school district said at no point were any students or staff in danger.
"I didn't want to leave the house because, you know, I thought if I got seen that they would have come and questioned me and taken me away," one student said.
A nonprofit advocacy organization The Latin American Organization of Eastern Long Island, also known as OLA, released photos of three men with no criminal record who they say were arrested by ICE and are working to bring home.
"We were all very scared and nervous," a neighbor of one of the men who was arrested said.
She said he is married and has two children who depend on him.
A woman who answered the door and Hugo Osorio's home, who was also arrested, said his wife just had a baby 12 days ago.
OLA said the men do not have a criminal record.
Southold Police confirmed there was an ICE operation in Greenport Village.
Children returned to school on Thursday, but parents are still left uneasy.
"The school had reassured everybody that nobody's going to come and get them. It's still a scary thing, you know, no matter what it is. Just hoping for the best," one parent said.
Governor Kathy Hochul posted about the incident on X.
OLA said their top priority is getting legal representation for the three men.
Eyewitness News reached out to DHS to confirm the ICE activity in the area and has not heard back.
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