Beloved bagel store manager Fernando Mejia taken by ICE agents, angering Port Washington community
Fernando Mejia wasn’t just any bagel store manager. He would dress up as Santa Claus or the Easter bunny for holidays. He had a big smile for customers and was beloved by many in the Port Washington community.
But last Thursday, after the immigrant from El Salvador opened Schmear Bagel & Cafe at about 5:30 a.m., he made some deliveries and, when he returned to the store, federal immigration agents grabbed him in the parking lot at 7 a.m., according to the store’s owner.
His arrest has sent shock waves and anger through the community, sparking efforts to get him back. A Change.org petition is circulating. A GoFundMe account is raising money. Public officials are sending out letters to the community to address the uproar.
“ICE Out of PW! Free Fernando,” declares a poster in the store's window. At a “No Kings” rally last weekend, people shouted his name.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- Many residents in Port Washington are in an uproar over the arrest and possible deportation of a popular manager of a local bagel cafe.
- Fernando Mejia was detained last Thursday morning by immigration agents in the parking lot of Schmear Bagel & Cafe.
- Public officials and residents are mounting a campaign to bring Mejia back.
"It makes me sick," said Stan Lacy, 45, as he ate lunch at Schmear on Tuesday. "I’ve been dreading something like this happening in our town.”
“To round people up and take them away just for trying to find a better life, I think it’s wrong,” he said.
Robert Khedouri, an attorney who is friends with Mejia, said the arrest “was heartbreaking and sudden. Fernando has a big personality and is always looking to make people smile. I believe people were in shock that this happened.”
Mejia, who had managed the store for at least three years, “is the wrong person to be caught up in the recent focus on immigration,” Khedouri added. “He is a hardworking and good-hearted person who has established himself in our community for many years. He is a huge and visible asset to our community loved by many, many people.”
Mejia, 41, apparently was caught up in President Donald Trump’s escalating crackdown on illegal immigration. Trump pledged in the presidential campaign to make it the biggest in U.S. history.
In late May, Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, said the administration wants to boost arrests of people living here illegally from about 600 a day to at least 3,000 a day.
Trump says the effort is aimed at curbing out-of-control illegal immigration and deporting dangerous criminals. But advocates say many of the people being arrested and deported are not gang members but farmworkers, restaurant cooks and others with no criminal record — their only offense is being in the country illegally.
“If anyone is being detained because they committed murder or a very serious crime, I agree, they should be sent back to their country, after due process,” said Mariann Dalimonte, a Town of North Hempstead councilwoman whose district includes Port Washington. “But this is not the case” with Mejia.
“Fernando is very well-loved in our community. He’s very well-known in our community. He’s someone you would want in your community,” she said in an interview.
On Monday, Dalimonte sent out a public letter to the community calling Mejia “the beloved manager of Schmear.” She said she is talking with federal elected officials about his case.
Mejia apparently was arrested because of a warrant of removal/deportation, she said. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did not respond to messages.
Dalimonte also addressed Port Washington’s vibrant immigrant community, which she said “may be feeling fearful, anxious, or disheartened. Our community has benefited from your presence and your contributions for generations. You are essential to the fabric of Port Washington, and you are seen, valued, and supported.”
It is not clear where Mejia is being held or if he has talked with an attorney, according to Khedouri and others. He has a 14-year-old daughter and suffers serious health problems with his liver, friends said.
George Tsikis, the owner of Schmear, said Mejia worked six days a week and “was always here. He was a great worker. Every customer loved him.”
“We’re doing whatever we can” to get him back, Tsikis said. “The whole town is pretty much in an uproar.”

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