Demonstrators, including a few counter-protestors, march April 5, 2025, in Sackets Harbor, Jefferson County, to demand the release of undocumented immigrants detained by federal immigration authorities at a local dairy farm, including three children who attended Sackets Harbor Central School.

The Trump administration’s abductions and detentions of immigrants without due process may seem unprecedented. But nearly 200 ago, fugitive slaves were dragged off the streets in New York, separated from their families, jailed and sent back to the hellish dangers of enslavement.

In our time, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are picking up immigrants, often regardless of their status. ICE uses New York state facilities and personnel to detain them before deporting them, often without hearings. Some people are sent back to the countries they fled. Others have been sent to countries they never lived in.

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

I am horrified that........

© Times Union