Bart Jones

Long Island

Religion Reporter at Newsday

@Newsday religion, immigration and general news reporter. Author of HUGO! Chavez. Venezuela @AP alum.

Articles

Suozzi calls on Trump, Noem to release popular bagel manager from Port Washington

1 week ago | newsday.com | Bart Jones

Rep. Tom Suozzi is calling for the release of a popular manager of a Port Washington bagel store whose arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sparked an uproar in the community. Suozzi, a Democrat whose district includes Port Washington, said Thursday he has written to President Donald Trump making the case for releasing Salvadoran native Fernando Mejia. He also wrote to Kristi Noem, head of Homeland Security, insisting Mejia be able to meet with him or an attorney.
Latino events canceled amid fears of ICE raids

1 week ago | newsday.com | Bart Jones

Amid fears of ICE raids, two annual events run by Latino groups, including one that raises funds for cancer patients, are being canceled, organizers said on Wednesday. The other event features the classic Salvadoran dish "pupusa" and attracts several thousand people a year. Advocates say the cancellations reflect a growing fear among Latino immigrants of going out to doctor’s appointments, food shopping or sending their kids to school.
Beloved bagel store manager Fernando Mejia taken by ICE agents, angering Port Washington community

1 week ago | newsday.com | Bart Jones

Fernando Mejia wasn’t just any bagel store manager. He would dress up as Santa Claus or the Easter bunny for holidays. He had a big smile for customers and was beloved by many in the Port Washington community. But last Thursday, after the immigrant from El Salvador opened Schmear Bagel & Cafe at about 5:30 a.m., he made some deliveries and, when he returned to the store, federal immigration agents grabbed him in the parking lot at 7 a.m., according to the store’s owner.
ICE set to deport Brentwood woman with 5 children, lawyer says

1 week ago | newsday.com | Bart Jones

A Brentwood woman with five children is in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and facing deportation to El Salvador — a country she fled nearly a decade ago after gang members there killed her husband — according to her attorney and relatives. ICE agents detained Nuvia Yessenia Martinez Ventura last week in Manhattan when she reported for a check-in, said her lawyer, Ala Amoachi, on Monday.
Rapid response teams fight against ICE raids on Long Island

1 week ago | newsday.com | Bart Jones

They are fighting against ICE raids — citizen "rapid responders" who show up when immigration agents are spotted trying to arrest migrants on Long Island. They try to get the immigrants’ names, find out where they are jailed, and get them legal representation. It’s a cat-and-mouse game since the raids tend to happen quickly. Dozens of volunteers outraged by the raids and moved by the plight of the immigrants are joining the effort, advocates said.
Suffolk jail inmates allege abuse by guards, horrific conditions

2 weeks ago | newsday.com | Matthew Chayes |Bart Jones

A Suffolk County jail inmate says he was in a wheelchair when guards handcuffed, beat, choked and groped him with mace-covered gloves before he was dragged and sprayed with more mace, some of the attack purposely outside the view of surveillance cameras. At the time, he had a cast on his leg, and a hip injury from a vehicle crash, according to the claim.
Homeland Security agents appearance near Westbury school leads to chaos, car crash

2 weeks ago | newsday.com | Bart Jones |John Asbury

A large crowd surrounded the scene of a Westbury crash involving a federal agent and the driver of a black Nissan pickup Tuesday after an appearance by Homeland Security agents in the area. A heavy police presence of police vehicles, ambulances, and mounted officers surrounded the scene a block away from Park Avenue Elementary School. A crowd of about 100 people surrounded the crash scene shouting at police and federal agents, who wore clothing with the HSI insignia.
Protesters in Westbury decry ramped-up ICE deportation efforts

2 weeks ago | newsday.com | Bart Jones

About 50 protesters gathered Sunday in Westbury to assail the Trump administration's escalation of deportation efforts aimed at immigrants in the country illegally, a crackdown that advocates said they haven’t seen in decades, if ever. Waving signs with messages that included "ICE out of Long Island," "Immigrants Belong Here" and "Protect Due Process," the protesters chanted as cars passed by, some drivers beeping their support.
Muslim community gathers for Eid al-Adha on Long Island

2 weeks ago | newsday.com | Bart Jones

Sundus Imam was in Saudi Arabia last year for Hajj, the grueling sacred pilgrimage to Mecca that all Muslims are required to make at least once in their lives if they can. On Friday, a year later, she found herself in her native Mt. Sinai, attending services marking Eid al-Adha, a major three-day Muslim holiday that began Friday and coincides with the end of Hajj. Both experiences were deeply meaningful, she said.
Muslim leaders on Long Island puzzled by U.S. veto of ceasefire of war in Gaza

3 weeks ago | newsday.com | Bart Jones

Muslim leaders on Long Island say they are baffled by the United States' veto of a U.N. resolution calling for a ceasefire to the Israel-Hamas war, predicting more death and starvation from "a man-made famine" unless the conflict ends. The resolution Wednesday had the support 14 other members of the U.N. Security Council but the U.S. veto sunk it's chance of putting a momentary stop to the war as it begins its 20th month.