The manager of Port Washington’s Schmear Bagel & Cafe was detained by ICE agents as he arrived at work outside the shop on Thursday, June 12, an employee told Schneps Media LI.
Fernando Mejia, 41, immigrated from El Salvador about 20 years ago and has been living in the United States since. An employee said he was detained for allegedly overstaying his visa.
The employee said she was not aware of where Mejia was being held since being detained by agents.
Efforts to confirm these reports with the federal agency were unavailing. ICE’s website has an online database for locating detainees, but Mejia does not appear on it.
The employee, who asked to remain anonymous, said her manager’s detention has angered her.
“I’m about to start protesting,” the employee said.
The Schmear employee said the main concern with Mejia’s detainment is his recent history of medical issues.
She said he has recently spent weeklong stints in the hospital for a medical condition and that his family and colleagues were concerned about the care he would be getting in a detention center.
After detaining Mejia, ICE agents returned to the store to get his medications, the employee said.
She said his family, including his 14-year-old daughter, has been informed that he has five days to get a lawyer and that they are seeking options.
The detainment of Mejia comes amid a wave of activity across Long Island, following the detainment of four individuals at a Glen Cove train station and the alleged wrongful detainment of a Brentwood man in Westbury.
Port Washington community members had reported that ICE agents were present throughout the Port Washington area the day Mejia was detained, allegedly questioning other individuals in the area.
Mejia was the only individual reported by community members to have been detained.
These actions mirror a nationwide trend, with an increase in reports across the United States of people being detained by ICE agents. This is happening notably in Los Angeles, where protests have erupted in opposition to these detainments.
The employee at Shmear said recent detainments have fostered an environment of fear, locally in Port Washington and across the Island. She said many people, like the workers at her local deli in Westbury, have stopped coming into work out of fear.
