Democratic Officials Arrested After Protests Against Immigration Policies in New York
U.S. authorities arrested 11 Democratic officials on Thursday, including members of the New York State Assembly and other local elected representatives, during demonstrations outside a Manhattan building where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operates detention cells recently condemned by a federal judge for inhumane conditions.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and ten state legislators were detained inside the 26 Federal Plaza building after being prevented from accessing the tenth floor to inspect the cells.
According to protest organizers, the group gathered to “ensure compliance” with a court ruling issued the previous day, requiring ICE to improve detention conditions.
At the same time, the city’s Public Advocate, Jumaane Williams, led another group of dozens of immigration opponents who blocked the building’s garage entrance and sat on the sidewalk holding signs and chanting: “Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here.”
Organizers reported that city police and federal officers arrested more than 75 people in total. However, Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security official, stated that the exact number of arrests was 71.
The incident marks the latest confrontation between federal authorities and Democratic politicians opposing President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
In June, Lander had already been detained at the same building, which also houses an immigration court, while accompanying a man targeted for arrest by ICE.
The 84-page court order cited severe concerns about unsanitary and overcrowded conditions, with up to 90 detainees crammed into a 20-square-meter room, forced to sleep on concrete floors—if they could find space at all. The order also found that detainees lacked access to showers and basic hygiene items such as soap, toothbrushes, clean clothing, and toilet paper.
