NY1: You might remember Ebou Sarr, who drew media attention in February 2024 when he housed dozens of migrants in his stores in the Bronx and Queens.
“There was a twin-size bed on this side,” said Sarr, owner of Sarr’s Wholesale Furniture, as he gave NY1 a tour of the shop’s narrow, windy basement. “We had four queen-size mattresses over here, this section.”
Sarr has returned to selling furniture in the basement, but he remains in regular contact with the men from Senegal, Mauritania and Guinea he once sheltered. Many of them, he said, are now living in fear of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and ongoing ICE raids in the city. Some, who work as street vendors selling bags, belts and phone accessories, are now in hiding.
“They’re scared because they think that maybe ICE will come over there and get them. So some of them are not even working right now,” said Sarr.
He said others have been forced to leave New York altogether.
“A lot of them went back home, they bought their own tickets because they say, they were disappointed,” he said. “Some of them went to another state. Some of them in North Carolina, Atlanta, even upstate, I sent some guys to upstate New York, for them to do something.”
Sarr, who has lived in the U.S. for about three decades, is not a U.S. citizen. He was born in The Gambia to Senegalese parents and continues to navigate the same immigration system he believes is broken and holding people back from achieving the American dream.
“I used to cry with these guys, I used to cry because it’s like crazy,” he said, recalling what the migrants endured. “In this country and people spending night in the streets, they putting them outside, and my own people, I said I’m not gonna let that happen.”
Although Sarr calls himself a Trump supporter, he believes the arrests by ICE agents inside federal courthouses—where immigrants are showing up for mandatory hearings—are unjust.
“None of these guys are criminals, they’re good and hardworking people,” he said.
Sarr’s three daughters live in the U.S., so he says he feels stuck here for now, even though he dreams of returning to West Africa someday.
“I wanna sell my businesses and go back home,” said Sarr.
Still, his love for the U.S. runs deep.
“I love this country, it’s a blessed country,” he said.
Sarr said he has no regrets about opening his doors to migrants. He felt compelled to help because the men reminded him of himself—coming from a similar background.
