Glen Cove Residents Demand ICE Protection From City Council

Glen Cove residents packed City Hall on Tuesday, March 10, demanding that their elected officials take a stand against federal immigration enforcement operations that have rattled the community for months.

The meeting drew residents from Glen Cove and surrounding communities including Sea Cliff, all pressing the City Council to offer some form of protection against Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity that has accelerated since June 2025, when four unidentified people were taken into custody near the Glen Street LIRR station.

That arrest was not an isolated incident. The Glen Cove Rapid Response Network reports double-digit ICE encounters in the city since that June incident. Islip Forward, a website that tracks ICE activity across Long Island, confirmed encounters as recently as February 12 and March 6 of this year.

The community impact appears to be significant. Nabil Azamy told the council that residents are afraid to go to school, visit grocery stores, or simply be out in public. That kind of pervasive fear carries real costs, both human and economic, in a city where 46 percent of residents are non-white, making Glen Cove considerably more diverse than Nassau County as a whole.

Roger Williams, pastor of First Baptist Church of Glen Cove, opened the public comment period by connecting his personal history to the current moment. Williams said he relocated from Louisiana to Glen Cove more than 25 years ago, drawn in part by the city’s diversity. He called on the council to respect the humanity of all people, regardless of national origin.

Karen Papasergiou of Sea Cliff described a February encounter with ICE agents during which she said she was approached by a federal agent after observing three unmarked vehicles on a local road. She said the agent warned her she was interfering with an investigation and then threatened her by stating he knew where she lived. Papasergiou said she subsequently contacted the Glen Cove City Police Department and found local officers to be far more responsive and reassuring than the federal agents had been.

“Support your constituents and do not allow ICE to terrorize residents,” she told the council directly.

Michael Israel, a former assistant superintendent in the Glen Cove City School District, told council members they carry an obligation to make all residents feel safe regardless of background. Israel also read a statement on behalf of Rabbi Michael Churgel of the North Country Reform Temple, which described certain federal enforcement tactics as “Gestapo-like encounters.”

Karin Barnaby, also of Sea Cliff, reminded council members that most of them likely descend from immigrants themselves. She characterized ICE agents involved in local incidents as violating human rights and drew historical parallels to patterns of ethnic and cultural oppression.

The council has not announced any specific policy response as of this writing. That silence matters. Local governments across New York have tools available to them, ranging from limiting cooperation between local police and federal immigration authorities to formal sanctuary city designations. Nassau County has generally not pursued such policies, and Glen Cove currently operates without a formal stance on cooperation with ICE.

Multiple vigils have been held across Glen Cove and surrounding communities in recent weeks. Protests have also occurred countywide, reflecting the broader national tension over the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement posture.

The question now facing the Glen Cove City Council is whether public pressure translates into policy. Residents at Tuesday’s meeting made clear they are not waiting indefinitely. They are watching how their elected officials respond, and they are showing up in numbers.

For a city that built its identity on diversity and inclusion, the council faces a decision about whether those values appear only in speeches or get written into enforceable local policy. The residents who filled those chambers Tuesday night are not asking for symbolism. They are asking for action.