Eleven Democrat elected officials and lawmakers were arrested Thursday for trying to access ICE detention cells inside 26 Federal Plaza, according to multiple reports.
The arrested include city Comptroller Brad Lander. Others were arrested outside for trying to block entry to the facility.
City and state lawmakers sought to inspect the holding cells on the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza after a district judge this week ordered conditions there brought up to constitutional standards. When denied access, the officials sat on the floor and refused to leave, unfurling a banner that read "NYers Against ICE," at which point they were arrested, The New York Times reported.
In addition to Lander, the other officials arrested inside the building were state Sens. Jabari Brisport, Gustavo Rivera, and Julia Salazar; and Assembly Members Robert Carroll, Emily Gallagher, Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, Marcela Mitaynes, Steve Raga, Tony Simone and Claire Valdez, The City reported.
They were hauled away in zip ties and subsequently released, according to The City.
"We put our bodies on the line for the lives and freedom of thousands of New Yorkers who have been illegally kidnapped and detained by ICE," Gonzales-Rojas said in a statement, CBS News reported.
Other officials joined about 40 protesters outside 26 Federal Plaza attempting to block garage doors used by ICE vans transporting detainees, according to the report. They, too, were arrested, including Jumaane D. Williams, the public advocate, and City Council members Sandy Nurse and Tiffany Cabán, according to The City.
In a statement, Williams said he was participating in "a nonviolent civil disobedience to demand oversight of ICE's inhumane detention practices," CBS News reported.
It's unclear how many arrests were made overall.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York, a Clinton appointee, issued an injunction against the "unconstitutional and inhumane treatment" of detainees at 26 Federal Plaza, ordering the Trump administration to "conform" the site to constitutional standards.
Attorneys for detainees argued that short-term ICE holding facilities were being used for prolonged detentions, leading to overcrowding and unsanitary conditions on the 10th floor — the area the lawmakers tried to inspect.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.