ICE raids continued at 26 Federal Plaza on Thursday, as federal agents whisked immigrants out of court and into custody, a dramatic scene that has unfolded many times at the facility for weeks.
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
ICE raids continued at 26 Federal Plaza on Thursday, as federal agents whisked immigrants out of court and into custody, a dramatic scene that has unfolded many times at the facility for weeks.
Lining the hallways, masked ICE agents made a section of the 12th floor of the federal building their threshold between the exit door and where they were making arrests on July 17.
Donned in nearly full face coverings and hats to conceal their identity, the federal officers, including U.S. Border Patrol agents, were on standby to nab people they say are in the country illegally but at the facility to attend mandatory immigration court hearings.
In a span of just two hours, agents tackled a man who attempted to run away and arrested an additional seven people. It is not clear what the specific charges were against each arrested individual.
A sense of quiet sadness permeated throughout the facility, but not only immigrants but officers felt the stress as well.
Many were seen appearing exhausted from the long days and weeks of detaining court attendees under the direction of President Donald Trump’s administration.
Many city and state politicians have spoken out against raids in recent weeks, including NYC Comptroller and former mayoral candidate Brad Lander, whose dramatic arrest by ICE on June 17 made headlines.
US Rep. Dan Goldman told amNewYork that the feds are bypassing the legal system in order remove “nonviolent, non-criminal immigrants trying to come into the country through a lawful pathway” of immigrant, and in some cases asylum, proceedings.
“This is Gestapo-like behavior, where plain-clothes officers wearing masks are terrorizing immigrants who are doing the right thing by going to court, following up on their immigration proceedings, and trying to come into this country lawfully, which is through asylum,” the Congress member said.
Other officials have focused on ICE wearing masks. On June 15, State Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of state attorneys general urging Congress to pass a law prohibiting immigration agents from wearing masks.
“It is deeply disturbing that, in the United States of America, masked agents can pull people off the streets in unmarked cars without ever identifying themselves as law enforcement,” James said in a statement. “Congress needs to act now to ensure that all law enforcement agencies, including ICE, are held to basic standards of transparency, accountability, and respect for civil rights. There is no place in this country for a secret police force operating in the shadows.”
Meanwhile, back at 26 Federal Plaza adults and families with children of all ages waiting in line for the hearings on Thursday, many not knowing whether they would be taken into custody.
