Two dozen unmasked but known ICE vehicles prowled the streets around Elmhurst Hospital for more than 10 hours on Thursday, Oct. 22, but neighborhood defenders did not witness a single abduction according to Hands Off NYC , a grassroots coalition of more than 250 labor unions, faith leaders and advocacy groups from across the five boroughs to organize nonviolent resistance against federal immigration enforcement.

Hands Off NYC said the operation at Elmhurst Hospital, just a block south of Roosevelt Avenue, was one of the largest ICE operations seen in the city since the crackdowns on Canal Street last fall.

“Neighbors showed up, blowing whistles, documenting, and alerting the community,” Hands Off NYC Co-Director Rebecca Rodriguez said in a statement. “Meanwhile, ICE’s violent tactics were on full display — agents ran neighbors with their cars, repeatedly threatened to use pepper-spray on neighbors who were documenting, and drove the wrong direction on one-way residential streets , going double or triple the speed limit.”

Hands Off NYC provided videos of the ICE vehicles on the streets outside of Elmhurst Hospital but none showed any civilians struck by any of the vehicles. An NYPD spokesperson said that there are no motor vehicle collisions reported in the 110th Precinct on Thursday.

One of the videos provided by Hands Off NYC shows a neighborhood defender confronting a masked-up ICE agent and mocked him for his get-up.

“My guy, this isn't Call of Duty. You don't need those gloves. You don't need those gloves, man. You can take off the mask. If you're ashamed to serve, you should quit,” the defender says just feet away from the agent. “If you're too ashamed, if you're too ashamed to show your face, just quit, man. Just quit. Get the f*** out of here, man. Just quit. Quit. If you're too ashamed to show your face, you should quit, man. You're ruining families here in Queens. Dude with the skeleton gloves. Halloween’s coming early, I guess. Hiding his face should be ashamed. That's why he's hiding his face. He's ashamed.”

The agent could be seen entering an unmarked SUV and driving away. QNS reached out to ICE and Elmhurst Hospital and is awaiting a response. Over the past year, Hands Off NYC has trained over 10,000 New Yorkers to know their rights and how to spot ICE in their neighborhoods.

“Alongside community groups and concerned neighbors, we’ve seen this work pay off,” Rodriguez said. “When we show up and exercise our constitutional rights, ICE leaves. Masked ICE thugs make no one safer — we know what ICE occupation looks like: excessive force, unlawful abductions, families ripped apart, civil rights violations and executions in the streets.”

Earlier this month, an ICE agent shot a Dominican man in his car with his 5-year-old son inside the vehicle in the Marble Hill section of the Bronx. He remains in federal custody.

“ICE must be abolished, and these agents must be held accountable,” Rodriguez said. “New Yorkers will continue to stand together, be courageous, and protect our neighbors.”

She added that if you see ICE in your neighborhood, call or text S.A.L.U.T.E. or call the NYC Hotline at (+1) 229-304-8720. About the Author Bill Parry Senior Reporter. Reach me at bparry@schnepsmedia.com

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