Over the chants of protesters outside 26 Federal Plaza, ICE agents continued their work of detaining immigrants after court hearings, a practice that has become increasingly routine.
ICE agents, the majority of whom were masked, lined the hallways on the 12th floor of the federal building on July 28, turning the space between the courtroom exit and the elevator into a checkpoint for arrests.
Over a two-hour span, amNewYork observed the arrests of five individuals who had been attending mandatory immigration court hearings. It was not immediately clear what charges, if any, each individual faced.
One man appeared to be roughly handled by agents as he was escorted down the hallway before being taken to a detention facility on the building’s 10th floor. That facility has drawn widespread criticism for what advocates describe as inhumane and unsanitary conditions.
A video leaked last week appeared to show people packed into the space, some sleeping on the floor in dirty clothing. Several individuals were seen covering their faces with shirts, apparently to block overhead lighting. The video also showed detainees near a shared toilet with no privacy.
Elected officials have repeatedly clashed with ICE over attempts to inspect the holding facility, but those efforts have so far been unsuccessful, while Mayor Eric Adams has written to the federal government requesting an inspection of the facility’s conditions.
The protest outside the courthouse was part of a nationwide campaign organized by Refuse Fascism, called “No Business As Usual.” Organizers say the campaign aims to stop what they describe as the consolidation of fascism under President Donald Trump and the broader MAGA movement.
Protesters gathered at noon to “blow the whistle” on ICE, both literally and figuratively, and called for an end to immigration raids and detentions. Organizers drew attention to what they described as inhumane conditions on the 10th floor of the building.
Among the speakers was the Rev. Nathanael Saint-Pierre of St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church on the Lower East Side who called for action, saying that prayer was no longer enough.
“I’m here to say that yesterday we prayed, but today we stand. Prayer is not enough. We need to get involved,” Saint-Pierre said. “I am a Black man, and unfortunately, when I am on the street, I don’t have an identity. No matter what passport I carry, I can be taken and kidnapped.”
He continued: “So I am standing with everyone asking that Trump must go now. That is not what brought me to America. It was about freedom, about life and about liberty. Now I am in hiding. I cannot openly preach the gospel, and they distort the gospel to make it mean what they want. We need the gospel to mean something else — to mean freedom for all.”
Over the sound of whistles, demonstrators chanted, “Trump must go now,” and “Shut down ICE now,” echoing through the hallways of 26 Federal Plaza.
Monday’s protest marked the beginning of what organizers say will be a nationwide campaign of sustained nonviolent resistance.
“This is not protest-as-usual,” said Coco Das, a national leader of Refuse Fascism. “It’s preparation for the moment that must come soon — when millions rise up together, nonviolently but with determination, to grind the machinery of the Trump regime to a halt and refuse to stop until it is removed from power.”
