Glen Cove Council to Hold Immigration Roundtable

Glen Cove’s city council will hold a roundtable discussion with community members over immigration enforcement concerns, officials announced at Tuesday’s city council meeting, following public pressure from residents who have raised alarms about federal immigration activity in the city.

Nabil Azamy, a member of the Glen Cove Rapid Response Network, addressed the council during the public comment period at the March 24 meeting. He had previously spoken during the March 10 meeting, urging elected officials to respond to growing anxiety among residents as the Trump administration has intensified immigration enforcement nationwide.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Azamy said he appreciated the board’s willingness to engage and noted that council members and residents have agreed to come together to discuss how best to support the community.

“That kind of communication builds the trust between city leadership and our residents,” he said.

Glen Cove has been a focal point for immigration enforcement activity in Nassau County. In June 2025, four unidentified individuals were taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement near the Glen Street Long Island Rail Road station. Since that incident, the Glen Cove Rapid Response Network has tracked double-digit reported ICE encounters in the area.

The city’s demographics help explain the community’s heightened concern. Glen Cove has a 53.9% white majority, a lower percentage than the Nassau County average. The city’s school population was 68% Hispanic during the 2024-2025 school year. Residents and community advocates say enforcement activity has created a climate of fear among families and neighbors throughout the city.

No date for the roundtable has been publicly announced. The council did not provide a timeline for when the discussion would take place.

In other business Tuesday, the council unanimously approved an ordinance to install a stop sign on Robinson Avenue heading west at the intersection with Crow Lane, acting on the same day as the public hearing due to what officials described as a pressing safety concern.

Mayor Pam Panzenbeck said she hopes the new stop sign will ease traffic congestion and address speeding on the road. The intersection sits at the crest of a small hill, limiting sight lines for drivers approaching the crossing and making the area particularly hazardous.

The safety issue has not gone unnoticed by nearby residents. A home a few houses from the intersection displays a lawn sign reading, “Slow Down.”

Panzenbeck said the urgency of the safety concern prompted the council to vote on the ordinance immediately following the hearing rather than waiting for a future meeting. All council members voted in favor.

The council did not say how quickly the stop sign would be physically installed at the intersection.

The twin issues before the council Tuesday, one touching federal immigration policy and one addressing a neighborhood traffic hazard, drew residents to the meeting and highlighted the range of pressures facing local officials in Glen Cove this spring.

The roundtable between city leaders and residents has not yet been scheduled. Updates are expected as planning continues.