Hundreds of protesters marched through Hempstead to push back against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and support immigrants as part of a regional push against a federal immigration crackdown.
The rally on Saturday, March 7, began at the Home Depot, located at 172 Fulton St., eventually culminating with demonstrations held outside of Hempstead Village Hall.
“We must stand up against the continued criminalization of our immigrant neighbors,” organizers of the protest said before the weekend.
The protests continue a wave of opposition to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. The president said during his Feb. 24 State of the Union address that open U.S. borders cause “higher medical bills, car insurance rates, rent, taxes and, perhaps most importantly, crime.”
Protests have occurred throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties during Trump’s second term in the White House, many of which have been centered around immigration.
Reports surfaced earlier in March that an ICE-proposed plan to open a detention facility in Holtsville was stopped by the Town of Brookhaven amid the growth of federal detention centers across the country. The Department of Homeland Security is currently leasing office space in Woodbury for 40 attorneys to operate out of.
Fred Brewnington, a civil rights attorney, called out Home Depot during the protest, as published reports have said the department store has been a hot spot for ICE activity.
Home Depot says on its website that it does not coordinate with federal ICE agents and that it does not provide the federal access to license plate reader information.
“We need to push back against the fascist aspects taking over our country,” he said.
Brewington and others led several chants during the protest, including ones that said “I say justice you say now,” and “New York for All,” in reference to a proposed state bill that put several checks on the power of immigration enforcement agents.
Susan Gottehrer, the director of Nassau County’s New York Civil Liberties Union, said she is outraged by the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and blamed Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman for ICE’s presence within the county.
“This county and Nassau County have become unrecognizable,” she said.
Port Washington Rapid Response Network member David Chapman shared his experience being arrested after protesting ICE in October 2025.
“I do this because I’m standing up against a repressive government that’s building concentration camps against America,” he said.
Chapman called ICE agents “goons” and said people will not stand for the federal government’s immigration enforcement.
Hazel Leon, a Freeport resident and founder of Así Vamos NY, said people in Hempstead and throughout Nassau County have been racially profiled and that her organization advocates for people to be protected and receive due process.
“Only the people save the people,” she said.
The youngest speaker at the Hempstead rally was 13-year-old Hailey Ramos from Hempstead. She read an essay that she wrote about how recent immigration enforcement has affected children and their perception of the country, as well as everyday life.
Hailey referred to children being afraid to go to school, being afraid of their parents, and calling out a system that she says dehumanizes and scapegoats Hispanic people.
“My community is not invisible and I will always stand for the truth, even if I have to do it sitting down,” she said.
Hailey received a loud round of applause, which continued the chants, blowing of whistles and overall loudness of the rally.
Other protests occurred over the weekend in Brentwood, Huntington and Riverhead.
