City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was back at 26 Federal Plaza Friday, three days after his arrest there, to once again observe court hearings for immigrants subject to immediate deportation by ICE.
Lander’s arrest and hours-long detainment on June 17 sparked backlash across the city and country. Gov. Kathy Hochul personally intervened in the matter, and the Department of Homeland Security — which initially claimed the comptroller had assaulted agents, despite video evidence to the contrary — released Lander without charges.
Undeterred, Lander returned to 26 Federal Plaza on June 20 to again observe and advocate for immigrants appearing for court-mandated hearings — which he said has evolved into “a deeply dehumanizing process.”
“I did not get arrested or detained today, but we saw three people removed by the same non uniform masked ICE agents who gave no reason for their removal,” Lander said during a press conference outside 26 Federal Plaza, “who ripped them out of the arms of escorts in a proceeding that bears no resemblance to justice in which none of them were given an opportunity to speak to the credible fear that they have of persecution if deported back to their countries.”
While walking through the facility, Lander, reporters and other observers again saw masked-up federal agents roaming the halls looking to detain individuals in their sights.
He described one case that ended with a family separation in which ICE agents “ripped away” a husband while his pregnant wife looked on after a judge dismissed the case against him.
“It is an entirely arbitrary system that is designed to instill fear and dehumanize in pursuit of Donald Trump’s effort to deport millions of people and with no due process whatsoever,” Lander added. “The families who did everything the right way — who checked in when they crossed the border and showed up for their hearings, are still being denied due process, had a mockery made of their rights to make an appeal, and are then detained without notice about where they’ll be.”
On top of that, Lander said that many detainees have been held at 26 Federal Plaza for as long as five or six days before transfer to other locations, even though the site does not have proper facilities to detain people. Members of Congress have repeatedly sought to access the site and check in on the detainees, only to be turned away by Homeland Security officials.
“It is a deeply traumatic, evil place upstairs, and it is a shame upon the United States of America,” Lander added.
Queens City Council Member Tiffany Cabán attended the observations with Lander along with Brooklyn City Council Member Shahana Hanif and Queens state Sen. Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas. Cabán noted that some of the judges at immigration court have been attempting to follow the law and act in the immigrants’ best interests, while other jurists have been acting more disrespectfully to the immigrants appearing before them and attempting to shun those seeking to observe the cases.
“We don’t think these deportations are in the best interests of the United States. In fact, it makes us less safe,” said Cabán, noting that many of the immigrants facing deportation have fled persecution in their home countries. “We’re better when we keep families together here in this country.”
Lander, however, noted that immigrants who have shown up at their hearings with attorneys have had the best success in defending their asylum cases and avoiding being taken into custody by ICE. He stressed the importance of providing greater public funding for immigrants in need to retain counsel to accompany them when they must appear in court, and publicly called on Mayor Eric Adams to support the City Council’s push for $170 million in new funding for such efforts.
“Getting people legal representation is critical,” the comptroller said. “It’s a kangaroo court if you don’t have a lawyer, and you don’t speak English, and your rights are being ripped out from under you. But having a lawyer matters.”
