A chorus of boos from a packed crowd punctuated U.S. Rep. Laura Gillen’s Wednesday town hall.
Attendees, many of whom said they voted for Gillen, said they came to Hofstra University to ask questions and hear her speak because they wanted to learn what they could do to oppose the Trump administration and what Gillen herself planned to do in Congress to defend immigrants and combat what they called chaotic, harmful actions from the president.
“I am very concerned about our democracy,” said Michael Dellatto, 63, a former Marine, Veterans Affairs employee and Wantaugh resident. “I want to ask her, what can we as law-abiding citizens do to prevent the administration from dismantling our democracy, as opposed to waiting for the midterm elections. Is there anything we can do now?
“I want to know what Congresswoman Gillen is doing to help the democratic movement,” attendee Don Allen said. “I want to talk about immigrant issues and know what she’s doing to help solve these issues.”
“It seems like we can’t do anything, but I know there must be something,” constituent Lorraine Kuziw said. “I’m sure she’s gonna tell us what we can do.”
As evidenced by a significant portion of the roughly 300-person audience loudly booing Gillen multiple times throughout the town hall, many did not feel that they got a satisfying answer after the roughly hour-long event, where Gillen answered pre-written questions with what some, like Kiana Bierria, called talking points.
“For us to make sure to pack this room out and for her to only give us an hour of her time and only answer basic questions – she should be embarrassed and ashamed of herself,” Bierria, a 31-year-old Hempstead resident who loudly booed the congress member, shouting that she wasn’t going anywhere until more questions were answered, at the conclusion of town hall. “I could have stayed home.”
A major issue for Bierria and other attendees included Gillen’s support of the Laken Riley Act, a new law passed after 22 year-old Georgia resident Laken Riley was killed by an undocumented immigrant who had previously been cited on shoplifting charges.
It mandates the Department of Homeland Security to detain non-U.S. nationals who are unlawfully present or lack proper documentation and have been charged with, arrested for, convicted of, or admit to committing certain crimes, including burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting.
Immigrant advocacy groups like the National Immigration Law Center have opposed the act, saying it exploits the personal tragedy of Riley’s death to fuel anti-immigrant rhetoric and undermine constitutional protections without improving public safety.
“I am very disappointed about her answer on the Laken Riley Act as someone who has worked with immigrant communities,” said Bierra, who called the event a disgrace. “The fact that she represents a large, allegedly diverse community, who is nowhere to be seen here, and she did not have any time to answer specific questions about how some policies are directly impacting the black and Hispanic people. I’m disgusted.”
“I voted for her because I wasn’t going to vote for her opponent,” Bierria added. “But, I didn’t expect it to be this bad. I didn’t expect to be this disrespected. I didn’t expect my vote to be that pointless.”
Other attendees, like constituent Lorraine Attias, were more hesitant to criticize Gillen so harshly, emphasizing they much preferred her to any Republican alternative and were generally supportive of her actions in Congress. However, they said they were also disappointed with the short length of the town hall and her support of the Laken Riley Act.
During the town hall, which started off with a warm reception, Gillen answered questions on what she’d do to work to reduce the volatility of Trump’s recent tariffs and trade disputes (signing on to a bill that would re-assert Congressional control over trade policy, listening to constituents to learn how the tariffs were harming their small businesses) and what she was doing to remove the State and Local Tax, or SALT, cap, which allows people to deduct only up to $10,000 from their income that is subject to taxes (co-sponsoring a bill to reinstate the full deduction and serving on a bipartisan SALT committee, throwing in a well-received joke on not being invited to a Mar-a-Lago discussion on the matter).
She also addressed cuts to Social Security and Medicaid, facing her constituents, referencing a recent town hall she held with fellow U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi that touched on these cuts, adding that both were hurting her district.
She emphasized that the cuts would hurt everyone, not just those using the services, and that calling Republican representatives to pressure them to preserve the programs could be instrumental in preventing cuts from taking effect.
The tone of the event turned, however, when the moderator asked why she supported the Laken Riley Act.
“Laken Riley’s mother can’t kiss her good night, can’t hug her, can’t give her a phone call. If this bill was in place before, she might be able to do that,” said Gillen, who had emphasized earlier in the evening that she supported the deportation of undocumented individuals who commit crimes, but did not support current deportations occurring with a lack of due process, referencing the case of Maryland man Kilmar Ábrego García, who was recently wrongfully deported to El Salvador.
“I read the bill very carefully when it came to my desk. I am proud to join a number of Democrats who voted for this legislation,” Gillen said.
When members of the audience expressed their disapproval, she doubled down, saying that she did not regret her support of the bill and would vote for it again.
Multiple attendees expressed disbelief that she continued to support the bill, alleging that it had opened the door to the current wave of deportations sweeping the country. A member of the audience who loudly expressed his objection to her vote was escorted out of the auditorium by security guards.
Gillen answered a handful of other questions afterwards, including those on how she would support the Environmental Protection Agency, now under Republican Lee Zelden’s leadership, bring back funding for clean water to her district after initial earmarked funds were cut from the recently passed budget resolution, her work on improving infrastructure and road safety on the island and her support for constituents with autism.
But she was unable to fully bring the crowd back to her side.
One member of the audience shouted that they wanted to ask Gillen questions directly, and she directed them to write their question on a notecard first. When she concluded the town hall, the room erupted with boos, with multiple people saying they wanted to hear more from her and felt the event was a waste of their time.
Gillen was scheduled to hold another in-person event for constituents on Monday, this one a Social Security briefing, in conjunction with fellow Democratic U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi (NY-03) and former Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley.
Members of the public can register at forms.gle/tsjDvsQYDEA1hJ99.
