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Mother and 3 Children Detained by ICE at Upstate N.Y. Farm Are Released

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Mother and 3 Children Detained by ICE at Upstate N.Y. Farm Are Released

Three children and their mother have been released from federal custody after being detained by immigration enforcement agents last month at an upstate New York dairy farm, officials said on Monday.

The case sent shock waves through tiny Sackets Harbor, N.Y., a village of about 1,400 people on Lake Ontario where the children were enrolled, and well liked, at the town’s school.

The family’s detention was another move amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown to touch off protests. About 1,000 people rallied on the family’s behalf on Saturday, according to North Country Public Radio.

The release of the woman and her children — a third grader and two high school students — was announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, and the local state assemblyman, Scott Gray, a Republican.

“We are open to working with federal immigration enforcement to crack down on gang members or violent criminals,” Ms. Hochul said in a statement. “But I will never support cruel actions that rip kids out of school or tear families apart.”

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Mr. Gray said in a separate statement that “we are all profoundly grateful” that the family had been returned to New York.

The mother and her children, who have not been publicly identified, were taken into custody on March 27 after immigration agents arrived at North Harbor Dairy to arrest a South African man sought on a charge of distributing images of child sexual abuse, court documents said.

The man was arrested, and seven other people deemed to be in the United States illegally were detained as well, Thomas D. Homan, the Trump administration’s “border czar,” said last week in an interview with a local TV station, WWNY.

“It wasn’t a raid,” Mr. Homan said in the interview. “It was a search warrant execution at a house where a family was found in the country illegally.”

The family’s supporters disputed that characterization, saying the family had an asylum case pending in immigration court and had kept in close contact with the federal authorities.

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Gittel Evangelist, a spokeswoman for the Rural & Migrant Ministry, an advocacy group in New York, said the family was from Guatemala. The New York Immigration Coalition said they had been held at a facility in Karnes County, Texas, since being detained.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement late Monday that the family had been detained during the execution of a criminal search warrant “to ensure these children were not being sexually exploited.”

A call to North Harbor Dairy was not returned.

School officials, who helped bring attention to the case, expressed relief about the family’s release on Monday.

“My colleagues and I are thrilled to announce that after 10 days of uncertainty, our students and their mother are returning home,” Jennifer L. Gaffney, the Sackets Harbor schools superintendent, said in a statement.

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“In this difficult time,” she added, “the strength and compassion of our community have shone through to support our missing family and the entire school community.”

At the rally on Saturday, supporters of the family gathered in downtown Sackets Harbor before bringing the protest to the doorstep of Mr. Homan, marching to a vacation home he owns in the village.

Jonna St. Croix, a social studies teacher at Sackets Harbor Central School and the president of the local teachers’ union, was among those in the crowd.

The school, which runs from kindergarten through 12th grade, has about 400 students, according to state data. In such a small school, Ms. St. Croix told North Country Public Radio, everyone knew the three children.

“When there is an empty desk in the classroom, it is very evident,” she said. “And we miss them.”

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Video: Fans Show Up to the Parade in Their Best Knicks-Themed Attire

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Video: Fans Show Up to the Parade in Their Best Knicks-Themed Attire

new video loaded: Fans Show Up to the Parade in Their Best Knicks-Themed Attire

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Fans Show Up to the Parade in Their Best Knicks-Themed Attire

New York Knicks fans showed up in droves to a ticker-tape parade in Manhattan in their best orange and blue outfits to honor the N.B.A champions.

“Patrick Ewing. He didn’t get a ring. But I wear your sneakers, bro. When I was in high school, back in the ’90s, Patrick Ewing, John Starks, they were the team that I rooted for in the ’90s. They didn’t make it. So as a tribute to him because this is where I started at being a fan, Patrick Ewing. Knicks hat in denim — I’m a denim fanatic. So I love denim — Knicks hat. And yeah, that’s it.” “This is my style. I usually dress like this every day. But I did a special Knicks edition. It’s all really fun. I start with my makeup. I did really cute flames on my eyes because the Knicks are fire. I don’t really know what I’m going to do before I put it on. I just figure it out along the way. Like, this is a piece of fabric and I just layer in stuff.” “This is from my online boutique and the hat I just bought on the way to the parade because I wanted to match the jumpsuit, and that’s how I came up with the outfit.” “She was ready to go, man.” “Can you show your fingernail?” “She’s been sleeping in her Jalen Brunson jersey for the last 10 weeks. We’ve been watching all the games. You want to tell them who’s your favorite player?” “Jalen Brunson.” “I’m pretty sure this jersey was actually made for a human baby. But they’re selling them around the block. And we threw it on Chester and everyone started clapping. So — he wears it well.” “Blue and orange.” “So I did blue and orange.” “It had to be orange and blue. “Orange and blue. Orange and blue.”

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New York Knicks fans showed up in droves to a ticker-tape parade in Manhattan in their best orange and blue outfits to honor the N.B.A champions.

By Meg Felling, Jeremy Raff, Ang Li and David Cheung

June 18, 2026

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New York

Video: The Democracy of The Dive Bar

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Video: The Democracy of The Dive Bar

new video loaded: The Democracy of The Dive Bar

New York dive bars, known for their grit, have also been crucial spaces where people can mix across class over cheap beer, and sometimes organize and resist. Our reporter Anna Kodé describes how rising costs and a decline in drinking now threaten the survival of these establishments.

By Anna Kodé, Gabriel Blanco, Haimy Assefa and Laura Salaberry

June 19, 2026

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Video: Knicks Fans Celebrate With Ticker-Tape Parade

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Video: Knicks Fans Celebrate With Ticker-Tape Parade

“It’s been 53 years. I’ve been waiting that long.” “It’s been a very long time, a long time coming. And I’m so excited that my Knicks finally brought a championship home.” “Let’s go Knicks.” “I had to wake up at six o’clock.” “Knicks in five.” “Let’s go, Knicks.” “Let’s go, Knicks!” “We just moved to D.C. a few years ago, but we’re so happy to be back in New York, celebrating. Once we won we were like — we’re absolutely coming home. So, we had to bring Chester with us. I mean, he’s the biggest puppy Knicks fan there is. Chester, can you say Knicks in 5? Knicks in five.” “I got hurt a couple weeks ago, but this is the first time they’ve been to the finals since I was a year old. And so to be able to be here, this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.” “My man’s out here with a boot and a Josh Hart jersey. My man’s got heart.” “It feels so overwhelming but overwhelming in a good way, where, like, I want to be — I want to, like, shoot some balls. I want to, like, just vibe with everyone because everyone’s here for one purpose, and that’s celebrating the Knicks.” “This has been like a uniting situation for New Yorkers, and I just can’t wait to feel the love from everybody.” “I think it’s a great equalizer, right? It brings everyone together. It doesn’t matter if you make $900,000 a year, if you make $50,000 a year. You’re united because of the Knicks.” “So often when this city comes together, it is because we are forced to by a moment of tragedy or adversity. What a gift it is to be brought together by pure, unfiltered joy.” “Most importantly, thank you to the fans. I’m not going to lie though, y’all all are some pretty hard critics, but we appreciate it. At least I do, appreciate it a lot.”

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