New York City and state officials were among dozens of people arrested at a demonstration opposing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Downtown Manhattan on Thursday.
It happened at 26 Federal Plaza, an ICE holding facility that has been a source of controversy over the past several months.
Chopper 2
Protesters chanted during an outside sit-in in front of a driveway of the building, objecting to the treatment of detainees held there, before authorities moved in to make arrests. Another group also moved in on the 10th floor, demanding to see conditions there before they, too, were arrested.
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 71 people, including two state senators and nine state Assembly members, were arrested. DHS also said the building was later placed on lockdown due to a bomb threat.
Chopper 2 was over the scene Thursday afternoon as protesters could be seen with their hands zip-tied behind their backs, waiting to board police buses.
Lawmakers say they were trying to conduct oversight of holding facility
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said he was one of those taken into police custody.
In a statement, Williams said he was participating in “a nonviolent civil disobedience to demand oversight of ICE’s inhumane detention practices,” adding, “Together with the dozens of New Yorkers getting arrested today, I call for all levels of government to do what they can to support our immigrant communities and vulnerable, marginalized populations.”
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Assemblywoman Jessica González-Rojas said she was also detained, alongside City Comptroller Brad Lander and City Councilmember Tiffany Cabán.
According to González-Rojas, the lawmakers were trying to conduct oversight of the ICE holding facility to make sure conditions were in compliance with a preliminary injunction ruling handed down by a judge Wednesday.
“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,” she said in a statement, in part.
The detained officials have since been released.
“They were laughing on the other side. The cruelty on display in those courts and on the 10th floor is really clear. We made it clear we weren’t leaving until they let us see and eventually they came and arrested us,” Lander said.
“Vulnerable communities are in danger. And, in history when we see this happening, what we know is that people who have a little bit more privilege have to do a little bit more to protect those who don’t,” Williams said, speaking outside NYPD headquarters.
“We are at a time where people in our communities are being scapegoated in order to continue to shift the balance of power, and people are less safe because of it,” Cabán said.
“What is happening is an imposing fear and literally kidnapping our neighbors, people who have nothing to do, very often, with anything to do with criminality,” Williams said.
DHS calls protest “a stunt” by politicians
In a statement, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called the protest “a stunt in an attempt to get their 15 minutes of fame while endangering DHS personnel and detainees.”
She accused Lander and protesters of obstructing law enforcement and causing a scene.
“The men and women of ICE put their lives on the line every day to arrest violent criminal illegal aliens to protect and defend the lives of American citizens. This type of rhetoric is contributing to the 1000% surge in assaults of ICE officers through this repeated vilification and demonization of ICE,” McLaughlin said in a statement, in part.
ICE claims federal elected officials don’t have access to the 10th floor holding cells because they are temporary facilities, not detention centers.
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