Two employees of SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Wednesday while attending immigration hearings to finalize their legal status, according to the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) and United University Professions (UUP).
Union officials say the workers – one represented by the CSEA and the other by UUP – were taken into custody before they could even enter the courtroom.
Both workers are being held at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, and now face possible deportation.
UUP President Frederick Kowal called ICE's actions appalling.
"We condemn the actions taken by ICE today," Kowal said in a UUP Facebook post, "we want our members to know that our union will stand shoulder to shoulder with them in the face of unlawful treatment."
In a statement, CSEA President Mary E. Sullivan called the detentions “unjust and inhumane,” saying the employees are “part of our Upstate family” and had been following the law in good faith. “No one should be punished for doing the right thing,” Sullivan said.
CSEA and UUP are calling for the workers’ release and for immigration policies that treat people with fairness and compassion.
Officials from ICE or SUNY Upstate have not yet commented publicly on the incident.
