On Sept. 1, ICE agents raided a day laborer gathering spot near General Hart Playground in Woodside, Queens, detaining about eight men, the second such raid in three days. Workers say ICE has specifically targeted the site during a weekly mobile soup kitchen distribution, and the usual crowd of about 100 day laborers has dwindled to just a few people showing up for work. Local officials, including Assemblymember Steven Raga and City Council Member Julie Won, say the raids are part of a broader, deliberate pattern of ICE activity across western Queens in recent weeks, including incidents near 37th Avenue and 69th Street. DHS says its "Operation Rotten Apple" resulted in 2,197 arrests statewide between July 27 and Aug. 29, though nationwide data shows fewer than a third of those in ICE detention have any criminal conviction.