Melville Protest Targets ICE Funding As DHS Vote, Shutdown Deadline Loom

MELVILLE, NY — Demonstrators gathered Wednesday morning outside U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer’s Melville office, calling for changes to federal immigration enforcement and calling on Congress to rein in ICE amid an ongoing funding debate in Washington.

The Bellmore-Merrick Democratic Club organized around 30 protesters who gathered from 10 to 11 a.m. on Pinelawn Road, drawing participants from across Long Island as law enforcement monitored the parking lot area.

The demonstration came as Congress faces a looming funding deadline, warning that failure to reach an agreement could trigger a partial government shutdown affecting federal agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Transportation Security Administration, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Because some appropriations bills have already been approved, any shutdown would be partial rather than total, with DHS among the agencies still awaiting finalized funding.

Protesters said they are asking lawmakers to reject a short-term continuing resolution and instead pass a revised Department of Homeland Security funding bill that includes restrictions on ICE.

The House version of the full-year Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026, released Jan. 20, would reduce funding for ICE enforcement and removal operations by $115 million, cut the number of ICE detention beds by 5,500, and expand federal oversight through the Office of the Inspector General and the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Organizers argue that a continuing resolution would keep ICE funding at current levels while delaying those changes.

The Melville protest was part of a broader wave of demonstrations across Long Island and the region in recent weeks, as immigration advocates and Democratic organizations have mobilized in response to ICE enforcement activity and the federal funding debate. Similar rallies and vigils have been held in Babylon, Huntington, and on the East End.

Freeport resident Hazel Leon, an organizer involved with the Bellmore-Merrick Democratic Club, said the rally was assembled quickly as the DHS bill advanced toward a Senate vote. She said organizers coordinated with club members and immigration advocates to mobilize supporters during weekday hours, when they felt their presence would be most visible to lawmakers and staff.

“We are making sure that Senator Schumer is securing enough votes so that this bill does not pass as written,” Leon said. “Not another penny should go to an agency that is acting without accountability.”

Leon said the protest was also prompted by recent fatal encounters involving federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, including the deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, both U.S. citizens. She said the demonstration was intended to apply pressure on Senate leadership to block DHS funding unless changes are made, even as Schumer has publicly stated he will oppose the DHS bill in its current form.

In remarks delivered on the Senate floor this week, Schumer condemned the killing of Pretti and called for separating DHS funding from the broader appropriations package so that most of the federal government could remain funded while negotiations continue.

“Until ICE is properly reined in and overhauled legislatively, the DHS funding bill doesn’t have the votes to pass the Senate,” Schumer said. “The American people support law enforcement and border security, but they do not support ICE terrorizing our streets and killing American citizens.”

Schumer asked Senate Republicans to split the DHS bill from the remaining appropriations measures, noting that five of the six funding bills are ready for bipartisan passage. Forcing a vote on the DHS package without changes, he said, could lead to a government shutdown.

“If Leader Thune puts all six bills on the floor without changes to DHS, the shutdown of the government is on his back,” Schumer said.

Several demonstrators on Wednesday said they were encouraged by Schumer’s stance but wanted to see continued pressure applied to ensure sufficient votes are secured to block the measure unless revisions are made.

Organizers also referenced concerns closer to home, including the 2025 death of Santos Edilberto Banegas Reyes at the Nassau County Correctional Facility. ICE has confirmed that Reyes was an ICE detainee at the time of his death; advocates have cited the case as part of broader concerns about immigration detention practices on Long Island.

Borecky said local police departments — not federal immigration agents — are responsible for maintaining public safety.

“Nassau County is rated as being one of the safest counties in the country,” she said. “We have strong local police departments. ICE is not making our communities safer.”