Mayor blasts ICE for conducting immigration enforcement near bus stop on school day

CROTON-ON-HUDSON – Village Mayor Brian Pugh of Croton-on-Hudson is criticizing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement for conducting “verified immigration enforcement” at around 7 a.m. on Friday morning, September 11 right near a school bus stop on the morning of a school day.

He said the village police department had no advanced knowledge of the activity taking place and took no part in the immigration enforcement action.

Pugh said the village believes one man living on Brook Street was taken into custody by ICE, and as a result, has notified the state attorney general through her Federal Action Reporting Form.

“There is a time and place for federal law enforcement to carry out its responsibilities,” the mayor said. “Conducting an ICE operation in the immediate vicinity of a school bus stop on the morning of a school day, without any advance notification to local officials or the school district, was unnecessarily disruptive to our community.”

To date, the mayor said the village is aware of two residents who have been taken into custody by ICE. In an incident reported in the April 19-April 25, 2026, blotter, another man living on Brook Street was taken into ICE custody and remains, as of last report, in federal custody.

“Our community deserves transparency and communication from federal authorities when their actions directly impact our residents, schools, and public spaces,” Pugh said. “Our thoughts are with our immigrant neighbors during this difficult time.”

He said he will continue to work with the village police, school districts and community to ensure that “everyone’s constitutional rights are respected, and that the safety and well-being of our residents remain our priority.”

The mayor said the village and police department “do not enforce federal civil immigration laws, meaning officers cannot question, detain, or arrest individuals based on immigration status or administrative detainers alone.”

He said cooperation with immigration officials “is strictly limited to matters involving judicial criminal warrants, terrorism, or probable cause of criminal offenses.”

That policy, says the mayor, “ensures all residents can safely report crimes and interact with local officials without fear.”