Two New York Congress members—US Reps. Dan Goldman and Jerry Nadler—attempted to inspect the ICE detention center in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday, but they were turned away despite having the congressional authority to do so.
Goldman (D-Brooklyn/Manhattan) and Nadler (D-Manhattan) wound up getting in a heated back-and-forth argument on June 18 with a field office supervisor, Deputy Field Director Bill Joyce, on the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza. That’s the location where ICE agents, some of whom wore masks, have taken immigrants into custody immediately after the individuals complied with court orders to attend hearings — and where City Comptroller Brad Lander had been roughly arrested the day before.
According to the elected officials, the pair said they sent an email telling those at 26 Federal Plaza that they planned on making an appearance, although they maintained that they are able to make a surprise oversight inspection by law.
During the exchange, however, Joyce railed that the 10th floor is not a detainment facility — even though he admitted that people are being held captive for days at a time, and are forced to sleep on the floor.
“You may choose to call it a detention facility because we’re keeping people longer — we’re housing them until they can be detained,” Joyce argued.
“What’s the definition of a detention facility?” Goldman asked.
“I will have to get back to you on that,” Joyce responded. The Deputy Field Director went on to say that his superiors had told him not to allow Goldman or Nadler inside.
“You are just following orders,” Goldman scoffed.
Instead of heading to the 10th floor, Nadler and Goldman made their way to the 14th floor, where masked federal agents could be seen lurking in the hallways.
They also sat in on several court hearings before ultimately leaving the building without seeing what they had come to see.
The lawmakers vented their frustration during a press conference outside 26 Federal Plaza later on Wednesday.
“We are very concerned about what conditions these immigrants are being held in while this mass deportation scheme is underway. We observed the courtroom before that, where the government is trying to dismiss cases. These are non-violent, non-criminal immigrants going through the proper process, the government is trying to dismiss the cases,” Goldman said, adding that the federal resources being used to arrest people are being wasted.
“These are people whose responsibility and job duties are to investigate serious crimes, and they’re being pulled away from investigating serious crimes so that they can arrest non-violent, non-criminal immigrants going through the lawful legal process,” Goldman added.
Both men said they are concerned about what the federal government is hiding. Nadler argued that they know very little about the people being taken into custody, and they fear that they are whisking individuals away who are eligible to stay in the country.
“I want to point out that these immigrants who are held there may be legal immigrants. They may be documented. We don’t know. We don’t know whether they’re documented or undocumented,” Nadler said. “These may be legal immigrants. We have seen that ICE deported legal immigrants and deported American citizens.”
Other reps turned away
This denial of entry follows that of US Reps. Nydia Velázquez and Adriano Espaillat, who were also turned away from inspecting the Federal Plaza facility earlier this month.
On June 8, Velázquez and Espaillat were made to wait in the lobby of 26 Federal Plaza for over an hour before also being denied entry.
Goldman also criticized ICE agents for stoking fear by wearing masks, even though the agents themselves say they are doing it to protect themselves and their families.
“Law enforcement agents don’t wear masks. Law enforcement agents take a risk in a dangerous job. These are non-violent civil cases of immigration. These are not violent criminals,” Goldman said. ”It is a function of intimidation that they are trying to scare not only the people coming to court, but the entire immigrant communities that come to this country to seek the American dream.”
