U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) resumed Raids in Saratoga, NY, at the Saratoga Race Course on Monday, arresting Eight Men from Mexico whom the Federal Agency says are Violating Immigration Laws. Khaalid Walls, Spokesman for ICE, said that the Men are between the ages of 20 and 49. Walls said that Two of the Men are facing Federal Felony Charges because they Re-Entered the U.S. after they were Deported.
Throughout June and July, ICE Arrested 27 Undocumented Workers in the City, which took a toll on Restaurant Staffing. The latest round of Arrests came One Week after the Racing Season ended in the City. Officials and Racing Experts feared Agents would Raid the Backstretch during the Six-Week Meet, but ICE spared the Saratoga Race Course from Raids during that time.
The Track Season came and went without any ICE Arrests. Earlier Raids ended Five Days before the Track Opened and Started up again, a Week to the Day after Track Season Closed. ICE, Walls said, did not Enter in any Agreement with the Track or its Trainers to Protect its Workers. While relieved none of the Track Workers, who Work for individual Trainers, faced Deportation, Mayor Joanne Yepsen wants the ICE Raids to End. "Unless they are violent criminals, I don't understand it," Yepsen said. "It's a shame that ICE and Homeland Security are not working on the disasters in our Southern states. Their assistance is sorely needed there where lives are at risk. But I am pleased that the racing season went unscathed."
Immigration Lawyer Leonard J. D'Arrigo with Whiteman, Osterman and Hanna in Albany, said that if ICE did Raid the Backstretch, the 2017 Meet would have been Destroyed. "It would be huge," D'Arrigo said. "Eighty percent of the workers on the backstretch are Hispanic. A lot of the grooms have appropriate visas. But when trainers go to hire workers and they have the appropriate documents to be hired, they hire them. But if investigation into documents like ICE does, sometimes shows, the documents aren't real. Trainers aren't experts in documents."
D'Arrigo wonders if ICE Balked at a Large Scale Raid at the Track because it would affect the Field and Anger Fans. "ICE is going for the low hanging fruit," D'Arrigo said. "They might not want to do something that will be a huge draw of bad publicity. They are probably nervous."
Walls said ICE Arrests will continue in Saratoga Springs and elsewhere. "All recent enforcement operations in this region are a part of routine, daily targeted operations conducted by ICE here and around the country every day, targeting criminal aliens and other immigration violators. These efforts will continue," Walls said. He said all were Arrested without Incident and were sent to Albany County Jail. From there they will be Transported to Buffalo Detention Facility where they are Held until they can be Deported, ICE officials said.
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