Rep. Paul Tonko joined immigration rights advocates Monday in Albany to denounce what he said was the Trump administration's recent use of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to unjustly detain members of the Capital Region's Afghan community.
Speaking outside the Albany Citizenship and Immigration Services field office, Tonko denounced what he said was increased ICE activity in the region, saying it was sowing fear and uncertainty in groups of people.
“We have witnessed masked agents scooping people off the street and throwing them into unmarked vehicles," Tonko said. “Many of these arrests have been against immigrants with no criminal record.”
Tonko said a series of incidents have recently targeted Afghans in the area. The Trump administration recently froze the processing of immigration requests for all Afghans pending a review of security and vetting procedures.
“In Albany County, 10 Afghans were detained in the first week of December. Seven people, most of whom were members of the same family and all of whom had pending asylum cases, were detained," Tonko said. "Just days later, two men – a father and a son – were detained outside a mosque after a morning prayer."
ICE arrests have increased dramatically in the immediate four-county Capital Region over last year, according to the Deportation Project, which recently obtained statewide statistics for each county in New York for between January and October of this year.
There were 190 ICE arrests in Albany County through October of this year, compared to 20 in all of 2024; 210 in Saratoga County, compared to 123 last year; 61 in Rensselaer County, compared to two in 2024; and 41 in Schenectady County, compared to 14 last year, according to the project.
Prior to Oct. 15, 2025, there were no Afghan immigrants detained by ICE in Albany County, but there were four in Saratoga County, according to data from the Deportation Data Project. This data does not account for arrests done by U.S. Border Patrol.
“We stand together as a community to say no to these actions coming from ICE,” Tonko said.
