Want to Come Protest the Concentration Camp In Chester?

This is going to be a crazy week in Chester. If you want to keep I.C.E. out of the Southern Orange County community, this is what you can do.

Pictured Above: 29 Elizabeth Drive in the Village of Chester, New York. The site is owned by IEP Chester LLC, a subsidiary of Carl C. Icahn's Icahn Enterprises L.P. Calls left by The Monroe Gazette to Icahn Enterprises L.P. and Chester Village Mayor John T. Bell have not been returned regarding the future of the former Pep Boys warehouse.

The Monroe Gazette has placed FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) requests with the Village of Chester and FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests with the Department of Homeland Security/I.C.E. for all information related to this property and its potential use as a mini-concentration camp.

According to reporting from The Washington Post, I.C.E. is looking to establish a processing site in Chester, New York. The Monroe Gazette spoke briefly with reporters at The Washington Post and learned that The Monroe Gazette was one of the first to break the news concerning the location and involvement of Icahn Enterprises L.P. if not the first to do so.

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I.C.E. Is Coming for Everyone, Not Just “The Bad Ones”

Now, I know I said this already, but let’s recap:

According to the Department of Homeland Security and I.C.E., over 70% of the people in their custody have no criminal record.

And little less than half of I.C.E.’s entire detained population have no pending criminal charges or prior convictions.

None.

So, this concept of the Trump regime only going after “the bad ones” is false. It’s not true. I.C.E. is in the business of rounding up anyone who looks brown. Citizen or not. It doesn’t matter to them.

I.C.E. is also killing anyone who gets in their way. Four people — including US Citizens — have died at their hands since January of this year.

There have also been nearly 20 incidents of people being shot by I.C.E.

At least 20 people detained by I.C.E. have also died this year. When people die in your custody and are deprived their legal rights, that means you’re running a concentration camp.

Over I.C.E.’s twenty-year history, the largest killer of I.C.E. agents isn’t “dangerous illegals” or “people getting in their way.” It’s COVID-19. You know, the thing we could have wiped out if we all got vaccinated, wore our masks, and maintained social distance? Yeah well, we blew that one. Let’s not blow this one too, shall we? I.C.E. should be abolished along with the Department of Homeland Security. It was a mistake left over from 9/11; and all the shady shit we did because of 9/11 has finally come back to haunt us here at home. (Mass surveillance, detaining people without justification, and getting us entangled in forever wars. My generation had Iraq. This generation will have Venezuela and potentially other locations in South and Central America.)

At this point, you either accept all of this as fact—because facts are facts, regardless of your opinion of them—or you don’t.

If you don’t, there’s no point in arguing because you’ve somehow attached Trump and MAGA as part of your personal identity, and the only one who can detach it is you. You will either find your way out of Wittgenstein’s Bottle, or you won’t. And that’s really sad. But it’s also human psychology.

Don’t believe me? Try finding anyone who loves the New York Mets like I do, and try to convince them to cheer for the Atlanta Braves. It’s the same thing, except the Mets fan in this scenario is a MAGA supporter. It’s tough to change teams when that team becomes part of who you are and how you interact with the world around you.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum defines a concentration camp as a place where someone is taken and held against their will, outside the norms of the law, and repeatedly subjected to inhumane treatment. That is exactly what’s happening at these I.C.E. facilities all across America, and will likely also happen at the one located at 29 Elizabeth Drive in the Village of Chester. The property, a former Pep Boys warehouse is owned by a subsidiary of one of Trump’s billionaire buddies, Carl A. Icahn.

Again, these are the facts:

The only people here in the United States who have any right to be here are our Native brothers and sisters.

Everyone else is, technically speaking, “illegal.”

For that reason, I don’t personally refer to anyone as “illegal.” I’d rather we all say “undocumented,” although “undocumented” conjures up imagery of Nazi Germany, where the Nazis harassed people that looked like me and my family for their “papers.” Exactly like how I.C.E. has treated over 170 American Citizens this year alone, often detaining them in the process.

So, put another way, I don’t care what you call someone here who isn’t a citizen. I only care about what the Constitution says in this scenario. So do you. Because in Southern Orange County, there are plenty of people crying about “special treatment” for one group or another. That “special treatment” is usually some kind of constitutional violation.

So, you either care about the rule of law, or you’re a bigot. If you’re reading this, you’re probably not a bigot.

And the law is pretty clear. The 14th Amendment guarantees that regardless of how you got to the United States, the laws of the Constitution apply to you.

-That means you are protected from unreasonable searches and seizures. Something to keep in mind given Vice President Couch Fucker’s promise that I.C.E. is soon conducting “door to door” searches. (You do not need to open your door to anyone unless they have a signed warrant from a judge. If someone comes to your door, ask them to press the warrant against the glass or make it visible on your camera if you have one, and ensure your name, address, and the date are correct. If it’s not, tell the I.C.E. agent to go fuck themselves.)

-That also means putting people in a “processing facility” without providing them with due process meets the definition set by the United States Memorial Holocaust Museum. Not providing those people with the proper food, medicine, and space to exist—not to mention penning them up in cages like animals, much like the Nazis did to my grandmother’s family—violates the constitutional protection we all have from cruel and unusual punishment.

So, if it looks like a concentration camp, and it sounds like a concentration camp, it is a concentration camp.

Now is not the time for soft language. Call it what it is.

You feel me?

Good. Because you should loudly and clearly call the potential I.C.E. processing and detainment facility at 29 Elizabeth Drive in the Village of Chester, New York, a concentration camp. If built, it will meet this standard.

So here’s what you can do to help stop it …

On Monday, January 12, at 6:30 p.m., the Chester Senior Center at 81 Laroe Road will host the first of two I.C.E. Out for Good Emergency Rallies. The Chester Village Board has moved its meeting to the Senior Center to accommodate a large expected turnout.

Public comment will be at the end of the meeting and limited to three minutes. If there is a large turnout, comments may be limited to one or two minutes or not allowed at all.

If you can’t attend the Monday gathering or don’t get a chance to speak, you can email your public comment to Chester Village Clerk and Treasurer Angela O’Neill at treasurer@villageofchesterny.com with “Public Comment Submission: Concentration Camp” in the subject line.

You can also use the following text:

“Dear Mrs. O’Neil,

I am a resident of (Chester/Blooming Grove/Palm Tree/Monroe/Warwick/Goshen/Woodbury) and I am writing to request the Chester Village Board do the following:

1. Not grant any sort of variance to I.C.E. and DHS, if requested, for the use of the former Pep Boys warehouse at 29 Elizabeth Drive to be used as a concentration camp. I.C.E. facilities meet the definition of a concentration camp as defined by the United States Memorial Holocaust Museum and through their documented pattern of behavior.

2. The Chester Village Board publicly clarify its position on I.C.E. in the community, and whether or not it supports the presence of the concentration camp.

Thank you.

(Your name here.)”

The Village of Chester meeting is important because, for I.C.E. to use the facility at 29 Elizabeth Drive, it needs a zoning variance granted by the Village of Chester. No zoning variance, no concentration camp.

The second I.C.E. Out for Good Rally will take place on Wednesday, January 14, at 6:30 p.m. at Chester Town Hall, 1786 Kings Highway.

The Town of Chester meeting is important because your friends at The Monroe Gazette and Hands Off Hudson Valley* have, for months, pushed the Village Board in Monroe to pass a resolution calling on State Senator James G. Skoufis and Assemblyman Chris Eachus to demand an emergency session of the New York State Legislature and advocate for the passage of the New York For All and MELT Acts.

The Village Board in Monroe has proceeded to drag its feet since November on this issue despite repeated requests to act.

So, we’re (temporarily) turning our attention to the Chester Town Board first before circling back to both the Town and Village Boards in Monroe and the Village of Chester.

Eventually, the goal is for every Orange County municipality to pass resolutions demanding that State Senator Skoufis and their respective Assembly representatives urge the legislature to vote now to pass the New York For All and MELT Acts. The fact that this hasn’t happened yet demonstrates how little your local elected officials take this situation seriously.

It’s time we change that. If you are caught dragging your ass on this issue in 2026, you will soon find your ass dragged out of employment as a elected official.

That said, the New York State Legislature is now back in session.

So. Every day that the New York For All and MELT Acts don’t get passed is a day wasted. There are many fights to come in 2026 (keep an eye on Election Day, for example), and we need to start locking things down here in our state in the likely event that things get screwy in November. While we hope our Midterm Elections take place as planned, you should not assume that will be the case and be prepared to act.

(Reminder: When peacefully protesting, make sure to wear sunglasses, a hat, and a surgical mask. This, and not bringing a cell phone with you, is the best way to protest. It also helps, if you have an attorney, to write your attorney’s number on your arm in the event you are detained. Any sort of violence or destruction of property is unacceptable, and the people who do that should be identified and reported to the police immediately. They do not represent us.)

New York has a Democratic trifecta, so there is no reason for these bills, along with others like the New York Privacy Act (to protect you from the damage DOGE did) and the New York Health Act (to protect you from the damage the Big Beautiful Bill did to over 1.2 million New Yorkers, myself include), not to be passed.

At the Chester Town Board meeting on Wednesday, people are encouraged to loudly and emphatically demand that the Chester Town Board pass a resolution asking Skoufis and their Assemblyman, Brian Maher, to bring the MELT Act and New York For All to the floor and vote on them.

Brian Maher is a Republican, as is Karl A. Brabenec. You know, the guy Straus News gave like eight weeks of space to recently in the pages of their newspaper?

The bar is very low in terms of expectations of Maher and Brabenec. Eachus basically does what Skoufis tells him.

So … if Skoufis delays or stalls on this?

Well, then you’re all going to see what I’ve been saying about that man for over a year is true: He doesn’t care about you.

James G. Skoufis only cares about what the wealthy and the well-connected want.

(Remember too: This is the same dude who ran for the Democratic National Committee Chair while simultaneously trying to ban masks and make it harder for you to protest. Don’t say I haven’t warned you consistently about this man since The Monroe Gazette got started.)

But Wait. There’s More.

One last thing.

It’s not enough to get all of the local Town and Village Boards to pass these resolutions; you also need to make some phone calls.

N.Y.S. Assembly Speaker Heastie: 518-455-3791

N.Y.S. Senate Majority Leader Cousins: (518) 455-2585 or 518 455-2715

Governor Hochul: 1-518-474-8390

The New York MELT Act prohibits I.C.E. agents from conducting their activities while masked. Given that the Trump administration’s own FBI has said the use of masks by I.C.E. puts everyone in danger (the agent, the person being stopped, and the rest of us from imposters wearing masks and posing as I.C.E. agents), this should be a no-brainer to pass.)

The New York For All Act limits, or in some cases prohibits, collaboration and coordination between I.C.E. and state agencies and municipalities. This would effectively end the arrangement I.C.E. has with Orange County currently to use part of the Orange County Jail to house I.C.E. detainees, and bring consistency across the state in terms of where someone could safely travel without worrying about I.C.E. harassment if they are undocumented.

All you need to do when you call these numbers for Heastie or Cousins is say the following:

“I am a resident of (put your town/village/city here). The New York State Legislature reconvened on January 7. I am asking that (Speaker Heastie/Cousins) move to bring the New York For All and MELT Acts to the floor and hold a vote right now. Every day that goes by without you doing this puts every New Yorker in danger from Trump’s Gestapo. No more excuses or delays. Demonstrate to the people who elected you and the Democrats that you will act in the best interests of all residents, and not just the wealthy and the well-connected.”

Or, for Kathy Hochul:

“I am a resident of (put your town/village/city here). The Governor has demonstrated hesitance to advocate for, and sign the New York For All Act. I will remind the Governor that as a voter, I am happy to support her primary opponent, Antonio Delgado, if she does not act immediately to call for a vote on the New York For All and MELT Acts.

I will also remember this November, if Kathy Hocul does not publicly pledge to sign the legislation as soon as it comes to her desk. Failure to do so will demonstrate that, despite her campaign promises to work on behalf of all New Yorkers, Kathy Hochul only wants to do what’s best for herself and her wealthy donors.”

The time to be nice is over.

In 2026, you need to fight. Use your words. Use your phone, and make it happen.

I’ll see you on Monday at the Chester Village Board meeting.

—BJ

P.S. Let’s not let Congressman Pat Ryan off the hook here either. But that’s for an upcoming story …