State lawmakers visit Nassau jail to observe ICE detainee conditions

A Wednesday visit by two state lawmakers to a Nassau County jail where ICE detainees are being held has pushed County Executive Bruce Blakeman to alter certain policies regarding their conditions and raised alarm that some, including those with no criminal records, may be held for longer than the 72-hour legal holding period.

Currently, 14 people are being held in the East Meadow Jail facility, where more than 1,400 people detained by ICE across the New York City metropolitan area have been held in the county jail since February. For every detainee, the federal government pays Nassau County $195 per night they are held.

“We have entered into a comprehensive agreement because it makes for a safer county to allow ICE to use our jail cells, and we will continue to do that,” Blakeman said at a press conference on Wednesday, July 23.

Bruce Blakeman speaks about state legislators visiting East Meadow Jail where ICE detainees are being held in Nassau.Isabella Gallo

Individuals detained by ICE are not intended to be held in county jails or non-federal immigration detention facilities, but Nassau County opened its jail to ICE through an agreement. Suffolk had a similar agreement, but broke it after a lawsuit found the county violated state law and the Fourth Amendment by detaining hundreds of immigrants past their release dates at the request of ICE.

State Sen. Julia Salazar and state Assembly Member Michaelle Solages said they were initially denied access when they arrived unannounced at 10 a.m. on July 23 to conduct a tour of East Meadow Jail, observe the facility’s conditions, and speak with individuals detained by ICE being held in the county jail.

The two state legislators were eventually permitted to enter the facility once the county’s legal counsel reviewed their request. They were accompanied inside by Nassau County officials and not permitted to bring in their phones or take photos.

Blakeman said the pair were “delayed, not denied” entry because the county did not have prior notice of their visit and needed time to prepare a security detail for their safety and security and the prison. He said they were accommodated within 45 minutes of their arrival.

State law permits elected officials like Salazar and Solages to tour jail facilities at their pleasure. Salazar, who represents Brooklyn’s 18th District, is the chair of Crime Victims, Crime and Correction. She said she has toured half of the state’s correctional facilities, including unannounced visits at local jails.

She said this was the first time she had been denied access at any point in her visit.

“They did not have the right to deny us access and I am glad that they eventually understood that and allowed us inside,” Salazar said.

Salazar said she and Solages did not observe “egregious” conditions at the jail, but said they spoke with individuals who had been held at the county facility for longer than the 72 hours that are permitted.

Blakeman said he was not aware that detainees were being held for longer than 72 hours.

Salazar said the cells did not appear crowded, and not all 50 of the designated single cells were occupied. Blakeman said cells only held one person at a time.

Salazar said she spoke with one person at the county jail: a Huntington business owner from Guatemala who has resided in the area for about 20 years and was not convicted of a criminal offense. She said he was arrested on Sunday and brought to the facility that same day, yet he is still in the county jail three days later.

“I suspect, given that timeline, that he and other individuals here are being held longer than the legal limit,” Salazar said.

Blakeman said he could not confirm or deny whether individuals who have only committed a civil offense, like overstaying a visa, and not a criminal one, were being held in the ICE cells because ICE does not share that information with the county.

He appeared surprised to learn that the Huntington business owner was in jail with no criminal background. Blakeman said he would “look into” his case after the pair’s visit enlightened him to the man’s possibly extended detention.

“They are in this country as people who should not be here. Therefore, we don’t know who they are,” Blakeman said of those being detained. “The target is for people who are here illegally, who have committed a crime in New York state. That is the criteria that was presented to us by ICE, and we believe that they’re adhering to that criteria.”

But Salazar said there are individuals being held at detention centers who have not committed crimes, including the Huntington business owner.

Blakeman said he believed that there should be a process for those who have lived in the country for an extended period of time, who are not criminals, and are gainfully employed to remain here or obtain legal status. But he said he had no plans to alter the county’s partnership with ICE or how ICE was detaining people.

Other conditions observed by the legislators included limited access to showers and restrictions on recreation, often limiting their exposure to sunlight and the outdoors.

Blakeman said it was the county’s policy not to allow ICE detainees to shower during what he said was a 72-hour maximum holding period, adding that he did not believe they were “entitled” to one.

However, he said that after the lawmakers’ visit, the policy would be altered, and detainees would be permitted to shower once a day if they requested it. He said he thought this would make for healthier conditions for corrections officers and other prisoners.

Blakeman indicated that the policy preventing ICE detainees from accessing the outdoors while they were held in the jail would not change, as they were not allowed to mix with the jail’s general population.

Salazar said she was suspicious of the county’s conduct on Wednesday, saying it led her to believe they intended to shield information or poor conditions.

“We are left without any other rationale,” Salazar said.

She said that the county officials on the tour with them would “strictly limit” the communication they could have with detainees, which was done through plexiglass. When she asked officials to see different aspects of the facility, she said it typically sparked a debate.

Blakeman denied that they were rushed through the facility or that their access was limited.

Salazar has advocated for the state Legislature to pass laws protecting immigrants, including the Dignity Not Detention Act, which would prohibit state and local governments from having contracts with federal immigration authorities.

“I think it’s unacceptable that people are being held, that our neighbors who have not been charged with a crime are being held in immigration detention right here in New York State,” Salazar said. “We don’t need to be complicit in this.”

Solages, an Elmont-based lawmaker who is of Haitian descent, said it is “heartbreaking” to anticipate ICE agents detaining people within her community.

“They’re not going after the criminals anymore,” Solages said of ICE. “They’re going after the people who are doing right by this country, who are being a part of this fabric.”