Onlookers described immigration court in Lower Manhattan as a \u201cwar zone\u201d Thursday while observing another day of masked ICE agents dragging away immigrants as their relatives wept.\u00a0
\nPhoto by Dean Moses
\nOnlookers described immigration court in Lower Manhattan as a \u201cwar zone\u201d Thursday while observing another day of masked ICE agents dragging away immigrants as their relatives wept.\u00a0
\nFederal agents stood in the middle of the hallway on the 12th floor of 26 Federal Plaza, serving as a human blockade to prevent journalists and court observers from bearing witness to what many are calling abductions.
\n\u201cDon\u2019t touch me,\u201d a woman who identified herself as an attorney yelled as the agents ripped her client from her grasp.<\/p>\n
City Comptroller Brad Lander was once again on hand at 26 Federal Plaza on Aug. 7 to observe court proceedings. He condemned ICE for seemingly grabbing hold of immigrants first, then asking questions later \u2014 referencing one man he observed being hauled away Thursday.
\n\u201cThey grabbed him and dragged him into a stairwell without asking his identity, without knowing who he was, without seeing if he matched the papers. They separated him from his lawyer, dragged him into a hallway, then apparently they concluded he was not the individual that they were seeking, and they let him out downstairs, where he was able to reconnect with his lawyer,\u201d Lander said. \u201cBut you know what? Law enforcement is not allowed to grab and abduct people with no idea who they are, separate you from your lawyer. They have no warrant, they have no case.\u201d
\nA woman is grabbed by ICE.
\nPhoto by Dean Moses
\nBrad Lander watches ICE make detainments.
\nPhoto by Dean Moses<\/p>\n
Earlier that morning, just as court was getting underway, one man was taken into custody in front of his wife. She was left uncontrollably sobbing and inconsolable, her cries echoing throughout the corridors.
\nThe chaotic and emotional situation left one passerby to comment, \u201cIt\u2019s like a war zone.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more than three months now, ICE operations have taken place in the halls of the immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza. Immigrants arrive there every day for court-mandated hearings, and whether they\u2019ll walk out of Federal Plaza free \u2014 or are seized by ICE \u2014 is seemingly a game of \u201cjustice roulette,\u201d as Lander described.
\nFederal agents are seen in the hallways rifling through paperwork, looking for certain individuals on the docket that day. Lander\u00a0argues that the process appears to be a random twist of fate.
\n\u201cSome people are going to walk out of that courtroom, and some people are going to be abducted and detained, and nobody knows who it will be, including the judges,\u201d Lander said. \u201cThe awful Hunger Games of justice roulette that\u2019s playing out in these buildings, where, instead of the courtrooms being used as meaningful courtrooms, they\u2019re being used as abduction traps.\u201d
\nman was taken into custody in front of his wife. She was left uncontrollably sobbing and inconsolable, her cries echoing throughout the corridors. The chaotic and emotional situation left one passerby to comment \u201cit\u2019s like a warzone.\u201d
\nPhoto by Dean Moses
\nman was taken into custody in front of his wife. She was left uncontrollably sobbing and inconsolable, her cries echoing throughout the corridors. The chaotic and emotional situation left one passerby to comment \u201cit\u2019s like a warzone.\u201d
\nPhoto by Dean Moses<\/p>\n
Those most vulnerable to the \u201ctrap\u201d are those who come to immigration court without legal representation \u2014 the vast minority of those who enter the building.
\nThey are not only left to navigate complex legal proceedings without professional aid; if they are detained, they may languish in custody, their fate seemingly unknown to their families.
\nLander continues to stress that the city and state must provide funding for lawyers to represent immigrants on a pro bono basis in order to keep them out of ICE custody.
\n\u201cI really plead with the state legislature and the governor on the state money and with the city as well,\u201d Lander said.
\nA woman is detained by ICE.
\nPhoto by Dean Moses
\nICE blocks a window from view.
\nPhoto by Dean Moses<\/p>\n
The situation at 26 Federal Plaza is a stark reminder of the need for fair and just treatment of immigrants in the US. The use of immigration court as a means of abduction and detention is a clear violation of human rights and the principles of justice. It is imperative that the city and state take immediate action to provide funding for legal representation and to put an end to these unjust practices.<\/p>\n
Q: What is happening at 26 Federal Plaza?
\nA: Immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza has become a site of ICE operations, where immigrants are being detained and abducted without due process.
\nQ: What is the role of City Comptroller Brad Lander?
\nA: Brad Lander is observing court proceedings and condemning ICE for their actions, advocating for funding for legal representation for immigrants.
\nQ: Why is legal representation important for immigrants?
\nA: Legal representation is crucial for immigrants to navigate complex legal proceedings and to avoid detention and abduction.
\nQ: What can be done to address the situation at 26 Federal Plaza?
\nA: The city and state must provide funding for legal representation and take immediate action to put an end to the unjust practices of ICE at 26 Federal Plaza.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Introduction to ICE in Courts Onlookers described immigration court in Lower Manhattan as a \u201cwar zone\u201d Thursday while observing another day of masked ICE agents dragging away immigrants as their relatives wept.\u00a0 Photo by Dean Moses Onlookers described immigration court in Lower Manhattan as a \u201cwar zone\u201d Thursday while observing another day of masked ICE […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":21267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-21266","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-crime-reports"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.amny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/unnamed.jpg?quality=51&w=1200&p=q&w=1200&resize=1200,800&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21266"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21266"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21266\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21268,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21266\/revisions\/21268"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}