Mother and 3 Children Release by ICE After Nearly Entire Town Marches to Homan’s Home

A mother and three children snatched by Immigration and Customs Enforcement without a warrant in Sackets Harbor, New York on 27 March 2025 were released a few days after nearly the entire town marched on border czar Thomas Homan’s home there.

At first Homan claimed the mother and children were found during a search that was part of a warrant for the arrest of a South African charged with possession of child pornography. Homan said they were taken because they “entered the country illegally.”

When uproar continued, Homan changed his story, saying his agency took the mother and children away for an “investigation” to see whether any of the children was a “material witness” against the South African, and to protect the “safety and security of the children.”

Teachers of the children and the principal of their school did not buy the new explanation. Jaime Cook, the principal of Sackets Harbor Central School, said “Anybody who has worked in trauma-informed teaching or trauma-informed counseling knows that that doesn’t make any sense,”

The Census Bureau says 1351 people live in the town. About 1000 marched to Homan’s house on Saturday.

After 11 days in custody, the mother and children were released and returned to Sackets Harbor.

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