Huntington Station man hospitalized after ICE arrest out of touch with family

A day after a Huntington Station man was arrested by immigration agents and, his family said, was taken to Huntington Hospital for medical treatment, relatives say they have no information about his location or medical condition.

Jonathan Interiano, 30, a native of El Salvador, was taken to the hospital Sunday some time after his arrest around 10:30 a.m., after an apparent struggle with agents outside a convenience store near the Huntington Station public library, his relatives said.

They haven’t heard a word from him since and were also denied access to him in the hospital and information about his condition, said his stepbrother, William Coreas.

Public officials and advocates said they were outraged by the information blackout but called it typical of the way federal immigration agents are operating amid what President Donald Trump has said will be the largest mass deportation campaign in U.S. history.

Federal agents "wearing masks and running around with no badges have been kidnapping people on Long Island for most of the past year," said Assemb. Phil Ramos, deputy speaker of the New York State Assembly and a former Suffolk County police officer whose district includes Brentwood. "They’re terrorizing families."

"It seems incredible that a hospital would not allow a family to see a loved one who was being treated there," he added. "It seems against the Hippocratic [oath] for them to deny access."

Northwell Health, which runs Huntington Hospital, said in a statement: "Northwell follows strict procedures in matters that involve patients under arrest. Our priority remains on the safety and health of our patients, their families and our team members."

Interiano came to the United States about a decade ago. His stepbrother said he was seeking citizenship. But he was unsure of Interiano's current legal status. He was working for a pool company.

Newsday did not find any criminal record for Interiano in digital databases to which it subscribes.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to questions about the case.

ICE has previously stated that "all detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers."

Trump has said he is targeting dangerous criminals, including gang members who are in the country illegally. But immigrant advocates contend that many of the people being swept up are blue-collar workers without criminal records.

Ramos and others demanded the hospital and ICE inform the family of Interiano’s whereabouts and condition.

"It's unbelievable," Coreas said Monday. "Yesterday when we were at the hospital, we were told that he was going to call us within an hour. Three hours passed by, four, no call. It's now Monday. I still haven't received any information about him."

Theo Liebmann, a professor at Hofstra Law School who specializes in immigration and deportation, said immigrants who are arrested are supposed to be allowed to make at least one phone call, though how quickly and how many calls vary widely among ICE detention facilities.

"Individuals I know about have found it extremely difficult to be able to access the phone," he said.

The ACLU states on its website, in an advisory to those arrested by ICE, that "if arrested, you have the right to a private phone call within a reasonable time of your arrest, and police may not listen to the call if it is made to a lawyer."

Interiano’s arrest provoked a small protest by relatives and others outside the hospital Sunday afternoon, prompting Suffolk County police to arrive. "Officers spoke with approximately a dozen individuals who moved off hospital property without incident," the department said in a statement Sunday.