I am the son of Colombian immigrants. As a lifelong Queens resident, I was raised in a working-class household that instilled in me the values of hard work, community and standing up for one’s neighbors. I have seen firsthand how immigrant families are the backbone of Queens, not an abstract idea. They are our neighbors, our coworkers, the parents at school drop-off and the small business owners on our blocks. Like my parents, they came to this country seeking safety, opportunity and dignity. They did not come here to live in fear of a federal agency that now treats immigrants and their allies as enemies.
In recent days, the nation has watched in horror as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents killed two civilians in Minneapolis. Both deaths underscore a terrifying truth: ICE has become an agency that operates with violence, impunity and total disregard for human and civilian life.
In the last couple of days, I have marched alongside thousands of New Yorkers in solidarity with Minneapolis. We took to the streets to protest the Trump administration, ICE and the rise of a fascist regime that relies on fear, scapegoating and brute force to maintain power. At the same time, our nation’s residents can’t afford their rent, groceries or childcare. These demonstrations were not abstract or symbolic in nature. They were deeply personal because what happened in Minnesota could happen here, and in some ways has already begun to head in that direction.
A recent New York Immigration Coalition report found that ICE arrests in New York disproportionately target Latino communities, including in the neighborhoods of Astoria, Corona, East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and Woodside. These are working-class neighborhoods. Immigrant neighborhoods. These are communities comprised of essential workers, parents and young people striving to build a better future.
This is not about “public safety.” It is about state violence directed at communities deemed disposable.
ICE’s real mission is terror and chaos. Parents are afraid to take their children to school. Workers fear going to their jobs. Survivors of domestic violence hesitate to seek help. And now, civilians who witness or protest ICE activity are being met with deadly force. This is what happens when an agency is given unlimited funding and little oversight.
Congress must act; half-measures are not enough. Leaders must eliminate funding for ICE and abolish the agency. An institution that repeatedly harms civilians, shatters families and undermines democratic norms cannot be reformed—it must be dismantled.
But New York cannot wait for Washington to find its conscience. Governor Hochul and the New York State Legislature must pass the New York for All Act. This legislation would prohibit state and local resources from being used to aid federal immigration enforcement and ensure that New York is not complicit in ICE’s violence. New York should be a place of safety, not a pipeline into deportation and death. Our upcoming budget also presents an opportunity to take a stand by securing $175 million for the Access to Representation Act, which will ensure that those who face deportations after being kidnapped from our streets have an attorney to defend their rights. These key legal services will provide our families a fighting chance to remain together.
Queens has always been a refuge, one of the most diverse places on Earth, built by immigrants who believed in the promise of democracy. That promise is hollow if we allow federal agents to abduct our neighbors and kill civilians without consequence. Silence is complicity. Neutrality is surrender.
The question before us is simple: Will we accept a country where immigration enforcement operates like an occupying force, or will we fight for a democracy that protects human life and dignity?
I’m running for Assembly because Queens deserves leaders who will protect our neighbors, stand up to federal overreach and fight for a state that lives up to its values. We must stand with immigrants. We must take a stand for democracy. And we must protect New Yorkers because what is happening now is not just an attack on immigrant communities, but on all of us. So, let’s act now because our future depends on what we do today.
Brian Romero is a progressive Democrat running for State Assembly to protect the immigrant communities of Astoria, Corona, East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and Woodside in Queens.
