Immigration arrests on Long Island reached a historic high at the start of the year and continued steadily into last month, new data shows, offering the first comprehensive local look at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s crackdown.

Anastasia Valeeva and Josefa Velásquez report in NEWSDAY that the 352 ICE arrests in January marked a peak in the monthly numbers covering October and early March. Newsday analyzed the statistics after the nonprofit Deportation Data Project released them last week. They confirm what immigration advocates called a "significant acceleration" in enforcement that also saw a record number of people challenging their detentions.

In February of this year immigration arrests dipped nationwide as well as on Long Island that month to 223, data shows.

But in the first 10 days of March, 118 people were arrested here, the data shows, potentially putting arrests on track to meet the January high, when there was an average of 11 people per day.

Islip Forward, a nonprofit immigrant advocacy organization that tracks ICE activity on Long Island, said the findings are consistent with what the group’s been seeing: a "sharp escalation" in immigration enforcement in late 2025 and a "significant acceleration" into the new year.

While the federal data only covers through March 10, Ahmad Perez, Islip Forward’s founder and executive director, said there’s been a drop off in ICE sightings on Long Island starting in late March, coinciding with ICE agents being deployed to airports to help during a partial government shutdown.

"Importantly, this shift should not be interpreted as a reduction in enforcement overall. Rather, it reflects a temporary redistribution of federal resources, following a period of sustained escalation," Perez told NEWSDAY.

He also noted that immigration activity is becoming "less publicly visible."

"Including early morning residential operations, activity near courthouses, and the use of unmarked or newly branded vehicles — dynamics that are not always captured in traditional reporting or arrest data alone," Perez said.

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The U.S. House of Representatives has reauthorized the National Estuary Program, which provides federal funding for the Peconic Estuary Program and Peconic Estuary Partnership, as well as the Long Island Sound Program, through 2031. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that the measure still must win approval by the U.S. Senate and President Donald Trump.

U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota…the Republican from Amityville who represents the east end…as well as local environmentalists applauded the House vote and championed the cause for further federal support.

“[The] American Water Stewardship Act delivers exactly the results we need by locking in long-term support for the Long Island Sound and our estuaries,” LaLota said in a statement announcing the passage of the bill by the House, which he co-sponsored.

The bill, which has initial bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, would fund the National Estuary Program’s 28 nationally recognized estuaries for fiscal years 2026-2031. The Peconic Estuary was adopted into the National Estuary Program as an “estuary of national significance” in 1992.

The National Estuary Program {NEP} was created in 1987 and last reauthorized in 2021 as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the $1.2 trillion federal economic stimulus package passed in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The act funded the NEP for 2022-26 with $132 million in annually available matching grant money for the national estuaries. The program’s supporters claim that for each federal dollar invested in the estuary programs around the country, the local program managers have generated $19 in local investment.

The American Water Stewardship Act also reauthorizes the Long Island Sound Program, which coordinates state, local and federal agencies to manage the environment impacts on the Sound, whose watershed extends as far north as Vermont and Canada.

The AWSA would also reauthorize, establish or expand more than a dozen other maritime and water quality programs nationwide.

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The Town of Southold is holding a presentation on “Understanding Subdivisions & Land Preservation in Southold Town” hosted by the North Fork Civics tomorrow evening at 6:30 p.m. at Veterans Park in Mattituck. Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski, Planning Director Heather Lanza and Land Preservation Coordinator Lillian McCullough will discuss subdivision rules, the process for lot creation, conservation and affordable housing, balancing responsible development with farmland and open space protection, smart growth, data trends and the policies that have “preserved Southold’s rural character and land.”

The Forum on “Understanding Subdivisions & Land Preservation in Southold Town” is free and scheduled for tomorrow at Veterans Beach in Mattituck from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

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East Hampton Town officials are moving forward on a law, drafted by OLA of Eastern Long Island, Inc. (Organización Latino Americana), that looks to boost accountability and establish reporting procedures for future Immigrations and Customs Enforcement raids. Jack Motz reports on 27east.com that OLA’s leaders have been attending East End town and village board meetings in recent months, lobbying for the boards that have a corresponding police department to pass the law, which is aimed at boosting accountability in the event of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid.

What the blueprint drafted by OLA aims to do, primarily, is both establish a series of procedures and training programs that would help deter the impersonation of federal officers and adopt local requirements for reporting enforcement activity up and down the chain, with the goal of making that information publicly available. The purpose is to boost public safety and accountability and clarify the place that local governments occupy, in the event of an ICE raid. East Hampton Town’s version of the law also blocks any town participation in ICE actions under the 287(g) clause, which essentially allows ICE and local governments to work in partnership for detentions.

OLA’s blueprint removed this provision after hearing feedback from local municipalities. The thinking was that the provision could serve as a stumbling block when looking to enact the law. But the one put forth by East Hampton Town officials, and that put forth earlier this month by East Hampton Village officials, contained a section blocking 287(g) partnerships.

What East Hampton Town’s version of the law also calls for is the creation of a task force, which will make recommendations to the Town Board. These recommendations will need to be answered, by the Town Board, within 30 days.

Further, mandatory reporting procedures will establish a flow of information, which will ultimately become publicly accessible. This will require East Hampton Town Police to notify the supervisor of any ICE activity that officers become aware of. The supervisor then has to share that information with the Town Board and the task force. This flow of information would, theoretically, be conveyed in real time.

The last part of the law gives Town Police the authority to request identification from those claiming to be ICE officers.

East Hampton Village officials became the first municipality to move on the law last month, when they slated it for a public hearing that will take place at the Village Board’s April meeting

East Hampton Town officials this month plan to notice the law for a public hearing which would be held on May 7. If passed, the law would sunset in July 2029.

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests of “illegal immigrants” on Long Island reached a historic high at the start of the year and continued steadily into last month, per a Newsday analysis of new data.

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville), who’s been supportive of local police departments cooperating with federal immigration officials, said the rising arrests on Long Island are "rooted in common sense and public safety."

Congressman LaLota, who represents the 1st Congressional District which includes the East End, criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and NYS Gov. Kathy Hochul for their sanctuary policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration officials.

"The contrast is undeniable. The Hochul-Mamdani approach is driven by ideology. And NYC residents continue to flee to Long Island where we are guided by a simple responsibility to keep our kids safe and our communities secure," LaLota told NEWSDAY.

The Newsday analysis of the Deportation Data Project numbers show that people with no criminal background continue to make up the majority of those arrested on Long Island, outpacing the national numbers. Since last Fall, more than 60% of people arrested on Long Island were not convicted or charged with any crime committed other than entering and / or remaining in the U.S. without the required federal documentation.

Nationally, this share reached its peak of 48% in January 2026.

Newsday calculated all ICE arrests on Long Island by adding together four locations: Nassau and Suffolk Counties, the Nassau County Jail and the Central Islip processing area. Newsday looked at total arrests for each month in those locations and the average number of daily arrests.

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The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office is teaming up wit...