Eleven Democratic elected officials were reportedly arrested in Lower Manhattan on Thursday after demanding access to federal immigration holding rooms at 26 Federal Plaza, in what authorities described as an unlawful disruption of government operations.
The incident unfolded just hours after U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan issued a preliminary injunction directing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to improve conditions at its 10th-floor holding area.
The ruling expanded on an August order barring cramped and unsanitary confinement, and requiring prompt access to confidential attorney calls. Kaplan’s new directive mandated additional hygiene supplies, sleeping mats, timely phone access and more space per detainee.
While ICE had already been placed under court scrutiny, Democratic lawmakers escalated matters by attempting to enter the secure holding rooms themselves. Federal personnel with the Department of Homeland Security denied entry. When officials pressed further, arrests followed.
Inside the building, City Comptroller Brad Lander was detained by federal officers. Outside, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams was handcuffed by New York Police Department officers after joining demonstrators who had blocked entrances.
“This afternoon I faced arrest alongside dozens of New Yorkers in a nonviolent civil disobedience to demand oversight of ICE’s inhumane detention practices,” Williams said in a statement.
Video from the scene showed Williams being taken into custody as demonstrators cheered. But to federal officials, the episode underscored a broader pattern: local leaders placing political theater ahead of respecting lawful processes.
Kaplan, in his ruling a day earlier, concluded that plaintiffs challenging ICE’s use of the Manhattan facility were “likely to succeed” on claims that conditions violated constitutional rights. Yet instead of allowing the court’s directives to take effect, Democrats pressed for their own access — effectively challenging federal security protocols in the process.
ICE officials, already under court order, have not publicly commented on Thursday’s arrests. But law enforcement sources defended the decision, arguing that access to detainees must be regulated to preserve order and security within the building.
Thursday’s confrontation was not the first. In June, Lander was briefly detained by ICE agents during a similar confrontation at the same federal complex, an incident that also drew condemnation from New York officials.
Williams framed the arrests as an act of conscience. “Nonviolent civil disobedience” was how he described the decision to push into federal facilities and join blockades outside. Yet critics noted that such actions risk undermining both the rule of law and ongoing judicial oversight.
The 26 Federal Plaza holding area has been at the center of controversy in recent weeks, after lawsuits alleged unsafe and unsanitary conditions. Kaplan’s injunction appeared aimed at addressing precisely those concerns.
Still, Democratic officials opted for confrontation — a choice that led to their arrest. For conservatives, the episode highlighted what they see as the left’s willingness to flout laws in the name of protest while federal authorities work within the bounds of court orders.
As Williams and others were led away, the clash offered a telling image: elected officials, sworn to uphold the law, choosing to test it instead.
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