Assemblymember Steven Raga and Council Member Julie Won have condemned federal immigration authorities for carrying out what Raga described as a “deliberate campaign of fear and intimidation” after receiving reports of an uptick in immigration raids in Woodside. Raga said he was “outraged” by reports that immigrant residents had been “abducted” by presumed federal immigration agents on several occasions in recent days, including multiple incidents near the intersection of 37th Avenue and 69th Street. He also referenced an incident at General Hart Playground on Saturday afternoon. “These are our streets, our parks and the places where our families and children should be able to live their lives without fear,” Raga said in a statement. “Our office is working to gather additional information about these incidents.” Raga accused ICE of directing a campaign of fear and intimidation toward Woodside’s immigrant communities but said the local community would not be “intimidated into silence.” “No one should have to fear that going to work, taking their child to a playground, or simply walking through their own neighborhood could end with them being taken away by masked agents,” he added. “Our immigrant neighbors are part of the fabric of Woodside and of New York City, and they deserve the same safety, dignity and fundamental rights as everyone else. “We cannot allow fear, cruelty and the abduction of our neighbors to become normalized in our city or our country. We must continue to stand against these authoritarian abuses and uphold democracy over demagoguery, due process over fear, and the Constitution over cruelty.” Won, meanwhile, said ICE agents have “no place” in the Woodside community, condemning reports of the raid at General Hart Playground. “A playground where kids were playing on a Saturday in August is not a battlefield,” Won said in a post on social media. Won said a community member was sitting on a bench in the playground when agents “grabbed him without showing a warrant.” “His family does not know where he is being held and we are working with our federal partners to find out,” Won said. She added that the arrest was “not an isolated incident” and claimed that Queens has seen a “major spike” in ICE activity in recent weeks, stating that there have been more than two dozen arrests since July 27. ICE has not yet responded to QNS’ request for comment. However, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin threatened on Tuesday to surge more ICE agents into New York City if Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul did not work with the Trump Administration on immigration enforcement. Mullin announced that ICE agents had arrested 2,100 people in New York over the past month, labeling New York as a “crime-ridden city” despite the NYPD reporting historic lows in murders and shootings for months. “We will send as many people as we have possible to make sure that we’re restoring law and order,” Mullin said. Raga and Won’s comments mark the latest effort by Queens elected officials to push back against a reported uptick in ICE raids in the borough. On Aug. 17, Assembly Member Larinda Hooks organized a rally at Barclay Triangle in East Elmhurst to protest against increased immigration enforcement in the neighborhood. Hooks was joined by several elected officials for the rally, including Assembly Members Catalina Cruz, Jessica González-Rojas, Alicia Hyndman and Clyde Vanel as well as Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry. A number of community organizations, including Make the Road NY, the New York Immigration Coalition, the NAACP, Las Doñas and Hands Off NYC, also joined the demonstration. Hooks charged that ICE activity dramatically increased in the area in July, with 14 pick-ups reported along Astoria Boulevard and Northern Boulevard across the month compared to just two in June. Attendees at the Aug. 17 rally accused ICE of targeting individuals with no criminal record and claimed that the federal government had targeted East Elmhurst and surrounding neighborhoods because they boast a significant immigrant population. “They’re taking anybody,” Hooks said. “It’s not just criminals… It’s people who are working for a living, who pay their taxes, who have never been touched by the justice system. This is not enforcement. This is cruelty and this is an abuse of power.” Hooks’ rally came one week after a number of residents and community groups gathered at Corona Plaza on Aug. 10 to protest against a reported uptick in immigration enforcement in the area. Organizers at that protest said armed federal agents had taken someone into custody in the area nearly every day in the weeks leading up to the demonstration.