OLA in the News

ICE officers photographed at the Hampton Bays Fire Department substation on Ponquogue Avenue. ANITA BOYER Federal immigration officers again roamed through Hampton Bays and Westhampton on Tuesday morning, detaining multiple people in Hampton Bays before heading west, though it’s not yet known if there were more detentions made there. Members of the local group of residents who have organized to track and film operations by officers from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement

The Express News Group presented an Express Sessions panel focused on Hampton Bays and the issues that are important to its residents on November 20 at Cowfish. As part of an ongoing series of special Express Sessions events, titled "Local Matters," Hampton Bays was in the spotlight. Local and town leaders join a panel discussion devoted to the important issues for Southampton Town's most populous hamlet. Among the topics discussed were the ongoing legal battle over the Shinn

Ella Engel-Snow speaks out against ICE, Photo: Lisa Tamburini Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents’ recent arrest of about a dozen immigrants on the South Fork sparked renewed protests of President Donald Trump’s continuing aggressive national migrant deportation effort. Critics rallied at Southampton Town Hall at the town board’s latest meeting on Nov. 12 in the days after ICE agents made arrests in Hampton Bays and Westhampton, where the agency using a local fi

The protest is the third in as many weeks to protest ICE on the East End. A previous East End protest. (Courtesy Anita Boyer) EAST HAMPTON, NY — Protestors outraged over ICE raids on the East End will gather again Friday to speak out, this time in East Hampton. According to organizer Anita Boyer, the event will take place at the Hook Mill, at the corner of North Main Street and Pantigo Road, from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.   The goal, she said, is to "stand up for our neighbors and

Protests over the detention of at least a dozen people by federal immigration agents in Hampton Bays and Westhampton earlier this month continued to ripple across the South Fork this week. Dozens of angry residents bombarded the Southampton Town Board last Wednesday, November 12, with demands that local officials take steps to express opposition to federal immigration operations here. About 55 protesters demonstrated in Westhampton on Friday morning and another protest is pla

ICE has been enacting sudden raids throughout the East End of Long Island, causing widespread alarm and confusion, especially within the Latino community. Many families have stopped sending children to school, avoid medical appointments, and other basic parts of life for fear of being detained. Minerva Perez is Executive Director of OLA of Eastern Long Island , a Latino advocacy organization. She joined the panel to give detail and context around these instances as well as he

Patti Schaefer Fahey of Westhampton Beach addresses the Southampton Town Board about ICE activities in Southampton last week. RiverheadLOCAL/Juliana Holguín. A crowd filled the Southampton Town Hall meeting room Wednesday afternoon as residents, clergy and immigrant advocates called on the Town Board to take a stand against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Hampton Bays and Westhampton Beach last week. “Families are being snatched from their homes and wor

While the ICE sweep last week that ensnared a dozen immigrants has sparked outrage and protests from some, those who are dedicated to helping members of the immigrant community have been beset with a new mountain of demands. For OLA of Eastern Long Island, the region’s most prominent Latino advocacy and support organization, the aftermath of last week’s sweeps has left the organization scrambling to get help to those detained and their families and address renewed anxieties a

As News 12 reported, multiple Long Island Cares pantries saw big increases in the number of families they served from the last week of October to the first week of this month, such as Valley Stream, which saw an increase of 120%. One Long Island Cares pantry says they saw a drop in people coming in last week due to immigration fears. The Long Island Cares Hampton Bays food pantry typically serves 150 families per week. But they recently saw a dramatic drop. "It's the immigrat

On Wednesday, November 5, ICE agents swept into Hampton Bays and Westhampton, setting upon immigrant laborer gathering spots and businesses that employ or are frequented by immigrants. The officers made several arrests as part of the largest local federal immigration sweep since the start of the second Donald Trump administration.
 In this week's episode, the editors talk about the operation with senior reporter Michael Wright, New York State Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni

Immigrant advocates say a man was pinned under the tire of a car during his arrest by ICE agents. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa reports. Credit: Newsday Studios; Osman Canales U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents hit the East End this week in a series of raids that immigrant advocates said were creating havoc and fear in the community amid a nationwide crackdown. On Wednesday in Westhampton, Edgar Tezen, 35, an immigrant from Guatemala, was partially pinned under the tire

Residents and local officials have issued sweeping condemnations of federal immigration policy this week in the wake of a November 5 sweep by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents that resulted in the arrest of 12 people whom the federal agency claims were in the United States illegally. Dozens of protesters lined Montauk Highway in Hampton Bays on Friday morning, November 7, decrying the arrests, carrying signs saying things like “Community Not Cruelty” and “Stop ICE,”

Glori Engel, the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in Freeport schools, in the high school's Chromebook Support Center. The district has accelerated its tech plans, adding computers and providing 750 students with hot spots so they can work at home, she said. Credit: James Carbone Long Island educators say the pandemic-era push to provide students with computers and apps for distance learning catapulted schools years ahead in their plans to incorporate t

A Border Patrol vehicle monitors the U.S.-Mexico border in California earlier this year. Credit: AP/Gregory Bull The Trump administration, in the latest front in its mass deportation campaign, is targeting "unaccompanied" children who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without their parents, according to officials and advocates. The government is offering the children, including thousands on Long Island, $2,500 to go back to their homelands — and suggesting they and their familie

A still from the film "Corina." Strength and perseverance form the conceptual and thematic core of the feature-length films from Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Switzerland, including one animated, along with one short film, that OLA of Eastern Long Island will screen during its annual Latino film festival, now in its 22nd year, September 24 to 27. OLA’s Latino Film Festival of the Hamptons kicks off the celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to Octo

If you’re feeling powerless about the state of the world today, the team at the Latino advocacy group OLA of Eastern Long Island is hoping that you’ll join this coming week in a shared experience of great international cinema that tells stories of strength and perseverance. Pictured Above: A Still from “La Ola (The Wave),” a Chilean film that will have its New York premiere at the OLA Film Festival on Wednesday, Sept. 24 at the Southampton Playhouse. Wednesday through Saturda

Hamptons, Get Ready for the OLA Latino Film Festival! Alright Hamptons family, grab your calendars because one of my favorite cultural events of the year is back—the OLA Latino Film Festival of the Hamptons! From September 24–27, 2025, the East End is rolling out the red carpet for Spanish-language cinema, and I promise you, this year’s lineup will have you laughing, crying, and maybe even dancing in your seat.  Opening Night:  La Ola (The Wave) Kicking things off at the Sout

In the shadow of the nationwide ICE sweeps causing fear, anxiety and unsureness in immigrant communities all over, the Latino Advocacy Organization, also known as  OLA of Eastern Long Island , is holding steadfast in its efforts to support local Latino culture here — and no better way to find that human connection than with storytelling. The organization will host its 22nd annual Latino Film Festival in collaboration with Greenport’s  North Fork Arts Center  from Wednesday, S

Naian Gonzalez Norvind, left, plays a 20-year-old agoraphobic woman who must overcome her fears in “Corina.” In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, OLA of Eastern Long Island will launch its 22nd annual Latino Film Festival on Wednesday evening at 7 at the Southampton Playhouse with “The Wave (La Ola)” (2025), a musical drama from Chile. A reception for ticketholders will begin at 6. The four-day festival will continue with screenings in Greenport, Wainscott, and

Strength and perseverance serve as the thematic backbone of the 22nd Annual Latino Film Festival of the Hamptons, presented by OLA of Eastern Long Island from September 24 through September 27. The festival features five Spanish-language films representing Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Switzerland — including one animated feature and one short film — all with English subtitles. This year’s program launches with the New York premiere of “The Wave (La Ola)” on Wednesday, Se