Masked ICE agents continued to apprehend immigrants attending mandated court hearings at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday – though the number of people taken appeared to be far fewer than apprehensions observed in recent months.
On Aug. 20, amNewYork observed ICE agents detain one man as he left a courtroom, swiftly grabbing him and rushing him away as a masked agent blocked cameras.
City Comptroller Brad Lander witnessed the arrest, having observed the detentions there over the last several months — and being subject of a high-profile arrest by ICE agents himself in July when he advocated for one immigrant.
ICE court order may have made difference
Over the past week, observers saw just two to three arrests per day at 26 Federal Plaza. Speculating as to the reason why the number has declined, Lander reasoned that it could be the result of a temporary restraining order barring ICE from holding detainees in cramped and unhygienic conditions on the 10th floor of the Federal Plaza building.
The conditions came to light through a video secretly recorded in July showing 10th-floor detainees within cramped conditions, with people sleeping on the ground in dirty, unwashed clothes. The video further showed the people located near a shared toilet with no privacy.
Lander hopes that the numerous legal actions are starting to make a difference.
“That may be because the temporary restraining order for fewer people on the 10th floor is working, and DHS is complying with the federal court order and therefore reducing the number of people in detention. And if so, that’s a good sign, because there are so many times when the rule of law is not applied in these buildings, and we need the rule of law to apply,” Lander said. “Obviously, we can’t know for sure if that is what is going on here.”
Lander also stated that he believes just having these armed men standing in the hallways waiting for hours every day is an extreme waste of resources.
“A hideous waste of our tax dollars as Americans going to a deportation machine that has nothing to do with safety. Again, these are not people who have been accused of any crime. These are people who are complying with the law by coming to court. So, it is an abominable waste of resources,” Lander told amNewYork.
The ICE agents themselves have grown to despise Lander over the 12 or so times he has attended court proceedings and watched on as they have taken those whose stories he had listened to in court.
On Aug. 20 the masked men groaned as they spotted Lander walking down the corridor, with one of them blurting out: “I hate that guy, bro.”
Lander has a simple answer for those agents who don’t want him there.
“If the abductions stop, then I will stop showing up. So, if they want me to stop coming, which I’m delighted they do, then all they’ve got to do is stop abducting people in these buildings, and I promise I won’t show up,” Lander said.
