In Woodside, Queens, a street corner outside General Hart Playground used to fill with nearly a hundred day laborers each morning, waiting for construction, painting, and roofing work. On September 1, 2026, federal immigration agents raided that same spot, arresting about eight men, according to witnesses. It was the second such raid in three days, and this time agents targeted the line for a mobile soup kitchen that feeds hungry workers every week.

One of the men detained was carrying valid work authorization papers. Agents took him anyway. St. John's Bread and Life, the charity that runs the food truck, says its staff watched agents throw two men against the park fence. "Our staff was not hurt but terrorized," said Executive Director Caroline Tweedy. A day laborer who witnessed the raid, Marvin, put it plainly: "They are coming here to hunt people."

New York City is home to an estimated 10,000 day laborers, most of them recent immigrants who earn money through hard, essential construction work and send much of it home to their families. Since this raid, the street outside the park has sat nearly empty. Men who once lined up for a chance at a day's wages are too afraid to show up at all.

Demand that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin end immigration raids on day laborer gathering spots and charity food lines, and require ICE agents to verify legal work status before detaining anyone. No one should be arrested for waiting in line for a meal or a job. Sign the petition to stop these raids now, before more workers lose their safety, their income, and their trust that showing up to work won't get them taken away.