New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, advocacy groups and local school leaders have expressed shock and alarm over the detention of three children and their mother as President Donald Trump's administration continues efforts to deport hundreds of noncitizens without any court proceedings or criminal charges.
The New York Immigration Coalition, a nonprofit that campaigns for immigrant rights, confirmed that the unidentified family — which included a third grader — was detained by ICE at a dairy farm in Sackets Harbor, New York. The family was then taken to the Karnes County Detention Facility in Texas, some 1,800 miles away, the nonprofit said.
"It is horrifying that these children and their mother were snatched from their home and disappeared," Murad Awawdeh, the group’s president and CEO, said in a statement.
He added that the family was "correctly navigating the immigration system and attending their immigration court hearings." Trump and border czar Tom Homan were, he said, "acting fully outside the law."
Both ICE and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment.
Sackets Harbor is in Jefferson County on the shores of Lake Ontario, 10 miles west of Watertown. On Saturday, a rally is planned in the town to call for the family's release.
NBC affiliate WPTZ of Plattsburgh, New York, reported that ICE agents searched the farm last Thursday for Marcell Meyer, who was charged with possessing images of child sexual abuse.
It is not clear how that arrest relates to the family's detention, but it appears agents were originally there to find Meyer.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said Meyer, a 43-year-old South African national, allegedly distributed the images to an undercover Homeland Security Investigations agent he believed to be 13. If convicted, Meyer faces five to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and lifelong supervision.
Seven people were found at the time of Meyer’s arrest and taken to a nearby border patrol station, where they were treated as "illegal aliens," WPTZ reported.
Hochul said in a statement Tuesday that she has worked with successive administrations on immigration, but she "cannot think of any public safety justification for ICE agents to rip an innocent family, including a child in the third grade, from their Sackets Harbor home."
"That is not the immigration enforcement promised to the American people. It’s just plain cruel. I want this family returned to New York State and believe ICE needs to immediately answer for these actions," she said.
The superintendent of the Sackets Harbor Central School District, Jennifer Gaffney, told WPTZ that the three students were being held in Texas but hadn't had any contact with their family since Thursday. She called it a "very sad situation."
"At Sackets Harbor Central School District, we view ourselves as a family, and right now, some of our family members are hurting. We are hurting because three students were taken away from our school community," Gaffney said in a statement.
She added the school board would "leave no stone unturned in our efforts to ensure their return back home."
In a letter to the school community, Gaffney said counselors and support staff were available to work with students. Teachers have been told to be open and honest with students about the situation and encourage them to write letters to show support for the family.
The Democratic Committee of Jefferson County, which is organizing Saturday’s rally, said protestors would peacefully march past the home of Homan, who lives nearby. The Facebook event post said that the rally is not an anti-Trump event, but "about protecting our kids and standing up for families in our communities."
