Washington, D.C. – Last Thursday, three children and their mother were kidnapped by ICE in Sackets Harbor, New York. The family was taken nearly 2,000 miles away from their home and thrown into the Karnes detention camp in Texas. Following the family’s disappearance, the Sackets Harbor school district and neighbors are speaking out against the abduction and the impact it will have on the community and local schools these students were a part of, one of whom was a third grader. This abduction comes as part of a national trend of an increase in kidnappings across the country.
In response to this news, United We Dream released the following statement:
“There is no justice in kidnapping people from the safety of their homes and communities, let alone children in elementary school and their parents. The abduction of these three students, their mother, and other community members of Sackets Harbor is a reminder that children, students, and families all across the country are the ones paying the price for ICE’s mass detention and deportation rampage.
This family was, and is, a part of the fabric of Sackets Harbor’s vibrant school, economy, and community life. Their kidnapping will have ripple effects across the entire community, from the empty chairs that will now be left in their classrooms, to the emptying dairy farms with this mother and others helped provide for and feed their communities. ICE’s violent pursuit of mass detention and deportations has wreaked havoc and chaos. There is no time to waste, to risk and potentially end another child’s freedom to learn and thrive in the places they call home. We demand the release of this family and an end to all ICE abductions now!”
