Dozens of New York officials arrested during protest at Manhattan immigration holding facility

More than a dozen elected officials were arrested Thursday during protests outside 26 Federal Plaza, a Manhattan federal building that houses an immigration court and other federal offices, as a federal judge extended a preliminary injunction aimed at improving detainee conditions at the nearby immigration holding facility. The officials, including the city’s comptroller and several state lawmakers, were among 77 people detained during the demonstrations.

Protesters had gathered to press for access to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding area inside the building’s 10th floor, the subject of ongoing litigation over overcrowding and squalid conditions. They were attempting to inspect the rooms as the injunction required ICE to limit capacity, ensure cleanliness and provide basics such as sleeping mats and essential personal items. After reporters documented the scene, federal agents barred the officials from entering the rooms and arrested them while the group sat in a hallway encircling a sign opposing ICE. The arrests occurred as the protest was staged in the hallway; Brad Lander, the city comptroller, was among those detained. The building was later locked down after authorities received a bomb threat. The officials were issued summonses and released.

Outside, police arrested dozens of other protesters at a nearby garage entrance used to shuttle detainees to and from the Manhattan facility. Other officials detained included the city’s public advocate, Jumaane Williams; state Sen. Julia Salazar; and City Council Member Tiffany Caban. Lander later described to reporters that a federal judge had signaled the federal government was not complying with the law, and that no elected official or other oversight body had been allowed inside to observe conditions.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan issued a preliminary injunction maintaining a set of requirements aimed at improving detainee treatment. The injunction keeps in place rules to provide adequate space, require the cells to be cleaned three times a day, and ensure detainees have access to soap, towels, toilet paper, toothbrushes, toothpaste and feminine products, along with mechanisms for confidential, unmonitored legal calls. The order followed a temporary restraining order last month in the wake of a lawsuit brought by immigration and civil rights groups on behalf of people held at the facility. In court filings, detainees described unsanitary conditions, including open toilets and a stench of sweat, urine and feces, fueling the ongoing litigation.

Dozens more were arrested on Thursday night as the day’s actions continued outside the warded building, with protesters chanting and holding signs such as NYers against ICE. The protests reflect a broader push by advocacy groups and some elected officials to press federal authorities on detention conditions while the legal case proceeds.

After his release, Lander said the judge’s critique underscored the need for oversight and for the government to comply with the injunction. He reiterated that inspectors and oversight bodies have not been allowed inside to review conditions firsthand, a sentiment echoed by other protesters and their supporters.

The situation at the facility remains a focal point of litigation and public debate as ICE's handling of detainees in New York continues to draw scrutiny from lawmakers and civil rights groups.