Several protesters were arrested on Friday outside the 26 Federal Plaza government building in Manhattan during a demonstration against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice). The protesters accused Ice of operating a covert detention facility at the federal courthouse, according to reports.
The demonstration, organised by grassroots movement 50501, saw protesters march to the largest federal immigration courthouse in Manhattan. They chanted and demanded access to the site, which was denied. Following a sit-in outside the courthouse, the New York City Police Department arrested approximately 15 protesters for disorderly conduct, according to Hunter Dunn, press coordinator for 50501.
Protesters allege that detainees are held in overcrowded conditions on the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza without basic amenities or legal access. Ice denies detaining people there, insisting it is only a processing centre. Last month, footage from inside the building shared by the New York Immigration Coalition showed two dozen men in bare rooms with few provisions.
“They were entirely peaceful,” Dunn told the Guardian. “It is not wrong to demonstrate against illegal, unconstitutional and immoral actions by the federal government.” Friday’s protest was one of several in the city this week, with groups including 50501, the New York Immigration Coalition, and faith-based organisations present.
Courthouse detentions have become a flashpoint in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, which aims to arrest 3,000 people daily. Similar incidents have been reported in Phoenix, Los Angeles, Chicago, and El Paso, Texas. A class-action lawsuit has been filed to ban the practice of making Ice arrests at immigration courthouses.
