The Glen Cove City Council was asked to take action against immigration enforcement at the Tuesday, March 10, meeting.
Roger Williams, a pastor of the First Baptist Church of Glen Cove, said he moved from Louisiana to Glen Cove over 25 years ago, and that when he arrived in the area, he admired the city’s diversity.
“Lately, I have been saddened by the activity of ICE in our city,” he said.
Williams said he wants people to be respected as human beings and called on the city council to respect people’s humanity, no matter what country they came from.
Williams was joined by other residents of Glen Cove and the surrounding communities, calling on the council to protect people from immigration enforcement.
Glen Cove has been a center for immigration enforcement in Nassau County. Four unidentified people were taken into custody by ICE in June 2025 near the Glen Street LIRR station.
Glen Cove has a 53.9% white majority, which is a lower percentage than the county average, and there have been double-digit reported ICE encounters since that June 2025 incident, according to the Glen Cove Rapid Response Network.
Islip Forward, a website that tracks ICE activity on Long Island, also reported confirmed ICE encounters in Glen Cove as recent as Feb. 12 and March 6.
Multiple vigils have been held in Glen Cove and the surrounding area amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, which has also sparked protests across Nassau County and the country.
Karen Papasergiou of Sea Cliff shared her February encounter with ICE agents at Tuesday’s meeting, saying she saw three unmarked cars on the road when one agent asked her to leave the scene, saying she was interfering with an investigation. Papasergiou said she never believed the agent and that he threatened her, saying he knew where she lived.
Papasergiou said that after the incident, the Glen Cove City Police Department made her feel much safer compared to the federal agents.
“Support your constituents and do not allow ICE to terrorize residents,” she said to the council.
Michael Israel, a former assistant superintendent in the Glen Cove City School District, echoed a similar sentiment, saying, “We have an obligation to our community to protect and make people feel safe, no matter what background they are from.”
Israel also spoke on behalf of Rabbi Michael Churgel of the North Country Reform Temple in Glen Cove, saying that immigrants should not have to live in fear of “Gestapo-like encounters.”
Karin Barnaby, a Sea Cliff resident, approached the council, saying that each member likely is a descendant of immigrants. She called ICE agents cowardly thugs who violate human rights and terrorize innocent people, saying that the actions of federal agents are similar to the oppression of other cultures throughout history.
“Persecution is nothing new in this country,” Barnaby said.
Nabil Azamy said people in the community are afraid to go to school, go to the grocery stores, or be out on the streets due to the immigration crackdown. He also said it is possible that business closures and the local school district’s declining enrollment could be direct results of immigration enforcement.
“Doing nothing while [immigrants] are made to feel unsafe in their own city is ultimately self-defeating for all of us,” he said.
