U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents carried out a series of raids on the east end this week. According to immigrant advocates, in Westhampton on Wednesday, Edgar Tezen, 35, an immigrant from Guatemala, was partially pinned under the tire of a car during his arrest by ICE agents and was later hospitalized. So claims Melinda Rubin, a Riverhead-based immigration attorney who is representing him.

Southampton Town police, however, said Tezen was not run over by an ICE car. Town police went to a 7-Eleven on Mill Road after an ambulance was requested because Tezen was having respiratory problems, said Southampton Police Chief James Kiernan. His officers, he said, were not involved in the ICE action or arrests.

Bart Jones reports in NEWSDAY that the arrest, which is garnering attention partly because of a video made by a bystander, came several days after ICE agents smashed two windows of a car in Flanders to arrest an immigrant who was inside, said Rubin, who is also representing that immigrant.

Chief Kiernan said he drove past the scene of Wednesday’s Westhampton arrest not long after it happened and saw Tezen on the ground several feet away from the ICE vehicle. He said it was "ridiculous" to state Tezen had been run over by the ICE car, and the ambulance was not called for that reason.

Minerva Perez, executive director of the nonprofit OLA of Eastern Long Island, said the ICE actions were creating chaos, tearing apart families in an area where immigrants make up a critical part of the workforce.

NYS Assemb. Tommy John Schiavoni (D-Sag Harbor) condemned the recent raids he said took place in Hampton Bays and Westhampton. "Thousands across the country are being snatched off the streets without due process," he said in a statement. "Not only is this an affront to the United States Constitution and the New York State Constitution, but the lack of transparency harms the relationship of trust between public officials, law enforcement, and the public, putting civilians and law enforcement in danger."

It's unclear how many people have been swept up in these recent East End raids and what they've been charged with, though Islip Forward, a civic group that tracks ICE arrests, said at least eight people were detained Wednesday in Westhampton and Hampton Bays.

***

The Federal Aviation Administration has announced beginning today it would impose a 10% reduction in flights at 40 major airports in over two dozen states, including Kennedy, LaGuardia, Newark Liberty and Teterboro in the metropolitan area. Long Island MacArthur Airport is not on the list, but flights there could be affected if they come from or go to the listed airports, including Boston Logan, Baltimore/Washington, Miami, Tampa and Orlando, Florida.

Peter Gill reports in NEWSDAY that like the government shutdown itself, it remains unclear how long the restrictions will be in place.

Rebecca Alesia, a luxury travel adviser with Wanderology, based in Nassau County, said flight travel is relatively slow now compared with the summer or winter holidays. "It will be interesting, to say the least, to see what will happen if this continues into Thanksgiving," she said.

Chicago-based United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in a statement the company’s "long-haul international flying and our hub-to-hub flying will not be impacted ... Instead, we will focus our schedule reductions on regional flying and domestic mainline flights that do not travel between our hubs."

It’s possible, Alesia said, that other airlines will focus on maintaining their flights in and out of their major hubs, though much remains unclear.

"I think economics is going to be the driver" in deciding which flights are canceled, she said. "If you have a flight that's only 60% full ... that's probably going to be [canceled before] a flight that's at 100% capacity."

Tori Tomasheski, co-founder...

Officers from the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency…ICE…swept into Hampton Bays and Westhampton Beach yesterday, setting upon immigrant laborer gathering spots and several local businesses that employ or are frequented by the undocumented and making several arrests as part of the largest local federal immigration sweep since the start of the second Donald Trump administration. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that on Wednesday morning more than a dozen federal officers arrived in a caravan of what appeared to be their personal cars and mustered at the Hampton Bays Fire Department on Montauk Highway, from where they set out in a fleet of unmarked minivans, SUVs and two large white vans that witnesses to some of the apprehensions said were used like paddy wagons. Immigrant rights activists said that at least four people were arrested in Hampton Bays shortly after the officers fanned out from the firehouse. Arrests were made at the Hampton Bays 7-Eleven, outside the Dunkin’ Donuts and at a Latino-owned deli on Montauk Highway. The federal agents then quickly moved on to Westhampton Beach, where they stopped at the property adjacent to the 7-Eleven on Mill Rd. The agents were also reported to have visited at least two other businesses in Westhampton and made arrests — though the total number of arrests made is not known. Each of the raids yesterday did quickly draw an audience of angry residents — some who just happened upon the agents, others who were drawn there by calls or alerts on apps set up to track where immigration agents are — who took videos and pictures of the officers, the arrests and the aftermath. Many directed harsh — often obscenity laced — invectives toward the officers.

By about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday the federal agents had dispersed, returned to the Hampton Bays Firehouse and retrieved their vehicles and departed.

Minerva Perez said about 40 vehicles were parked at the Hampton Bays firehouse Wednesday morning, including vans that detainees were loaded into.

Southampton Town Police Chief James Kiernan said the town had not been alerted to the federal operation prior to the agents’ arrival and Town Police officers did not participate in any way — though a town officer did respond to the scene of a collision in Westhampton involving an ICE agent to conduct an accident investigation. A Southampton Town officer and detective were seen by witnesses at the scene for nearly an hour.

***

Despite bipartisan support to pass a measure extending the length of terms for Suffolk County legislators, pushback has already emerged from Democratic Party leaders, including possible litigation to overturn the voter-approved referendum. Suffolk’s Democratic Party Committee Chairman Rich Schaffer told Newsday Tuesday night he believes the referendum will “be found unconstitutional,” forcing lawmakers to run again in 2026.

The proposition received just over 57% approval, according to unofficial results yesterday from the Suffolk County Board of Elections.

Joe Werkmeister reports in NEWSDAY that voter approval of the referendum allows the legislators elected Tuesday to serve a four-year term. Those who take office Jan. 1 would run for reelection in 2028, however, due to the state shifting local elections to even years. Lawmakers said even-year election was the driving force behind the referendum to avoid three elections in four years.

Jesse Garcia, chairman of the Suffolk County Republican Committee, said he believes the measure will stand up to a legal challenge.

He said the legislation to present the referendum to voters was approved in a bipartisan vote.

Republicans introduced legislation called the Term Limit Preservation Act in June. Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine signed the measure into law this past July.

Several experts Newsday interviewed recently questioned the legality of the measure...

Some results from east end elections yesterday include the race for south fork Suffolk County Legislator, 2nd District, where incumbent Democrat Ann E. Welker won reelection with nearly 70 percent of the votes.

In Southampton, Democratic Town Board candidate Tom Neely was the top vote-getter, followed by incumbent Republican Cyndi McNamara, in the three-way race for two seats. Incumbent Councilman Rick Martel will not return to the board. Democratic Town Supervisor Maria Moore was reelected, running unopposed. Overall turnout for the vote was low, with fewer than 12,000 voters casting ballots during early voting, with mail-in absentee ballots and at the polls on Tuesday. Michael Wright reports on 27east.com that in the most stunning results of the night, all five Democratic candidates for the Southampton Town Trustees cruised to easy victories over the five Republican candidates, unseating veteran incumbents Edward Warner Jr. and Scott Horowitz and Trustee Chip Maran. Warner Jr. is the longest serving member of the board, elected in 2005 to succeeded his father, who served as a Town Trustee for more than 30 years.

In East Hampton, Democratic Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez won, running unopposed, along with her town board running mates Ian Calder-Piedmonte and Cate Rogers. The 4 Trustee seats in East Hampton Town were also won by Democrats.

On the north fork in the Suffolk County Legislator race in the First Legislative District, Democrat Greg Doroski won an upset victory over Republican incumbent Catherine Stark, 52.09% to 47.88%, 11,219 votes to 10,311votes, according to the unofficial results.

Incumbent Southold Town Councilman Brian Mealy has been declared a winner by NEWSDAY.

***

Suffolk County voters approved a referendum yesterday to extend the length of terms for county legislators from two to four years in a rebuke to the state shifting local elections to even years. Joe Werkmeister reports in NEWSDAY that winners in the Suffolk races will serve a truncated three-year term and can run for reelection in 2028. If the referendum, Proposition 2, had failed, they would have had to run again in 2026, essentially restarting the campaign shortly after being sworn into office in January.

Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine signed the Term Limit Preservation Act in July after it was passed with bipartisan support through the legislature, allowing the measure to appear on the Election Day ballot.

The proposition also changes the county’s 12-year term limit law to allow a legislator who reaches a 12th year in the middle of a term to be extended. For example, Legis. Leslie Kennedy (R-Nesconset), who won Tuesday, reaches her 12th year in 2027. Kennedy can continue to serve through 2028.

Republicans, in campaign materials, have urged voters to pass the proposition. Mailers from the Suffolk County GOP Committee said "Vote yes to term limits," although the proposition does not change the current 12-year term limits.

The Suffolk Democratic Party did not mention the proposition in campaign materials, according to campaign manager Keith Davies.

Suffolk Democratic chairman Rich Schaffer said late yesterday that Democrats planned to challenge the legality of the referendum in an effort to invalidate it.

"I believe that it will be found unconstitutional, and that then the races would have to be run again next year," Schaffer said.

***

With all 22 Riverhead election districts reporting, a political newcomer, Democrat Jerry Halpin, a local church pastor, leads incumbent Republican Supervisor Tim Hubbard by a razor thin margin in the race for Riverhead Town supervisor. Denise Civiletti reports on Riverheadlocal.com that Halpin leads Hubbard by just 21 votes out of 7,761 votes cast, 3,891 to 3,870, according to unofficial results published by the Suffolk County Board of Elections early. this...