ICE agents apparently defied a court order Tuesday by making arrests at the immigration court located at 26 Federal Plaza.
Less than 24 hours after a federal judge issued an order prohibiting federal agents from detaining immigrants inside courthouses at Federal Plaza and nearby 290 Broadway, ICE agents returned on the morning of May 19 to patrol the hallways outside the immigration court and make at least one arrest.
According to Peter Melck Kuttel, arrest coordinator at Father Fabian Arias’ Saint Peter’s Church, he gave the officers copies of the warrant and explained that they could not remain in the building making arrests.
“We don’t care,” he says the agents responded.
Sources reported that at 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, ICE agents with their faces covered detained Alexander, a 21-year-old Honduran, outside a courtroom on the 12th floor of 26 Federal Plaza. According to sources, the young man has no criminal record that would justify his arrest.
The most recent ICE detention is a “disgusting” attack on constitutional rights, immigrant advocates denounce
Father Fabian Arias, an immigrant rights activist, witnessed the arrest and called the situation “disgusting.”
“Every day, this administration violates the Constitution and democracy. This young man was vulnerable and they did not offer any explanation as to why they took him away,” Arias said. “I don’t understand why they are here.”
Immigrant advocacy groups had greeted with cautious optimism the decision issued Monday by Judge Kevin Castel, who prohibited federal agents from arresting immigrants while they were attending mandatory court hearings. After a year of family separations and legal battles, activists and lawyers described the decision as a major victory.
“This ruling brings relief to hundreds of immigrants with future hearings and appointments at 26 Federal Plaza, who would no longer be afraid to follow the rules and appear in court,” said Melissa Chua, director of NYLAG’s Immigrant Protection Unit, after the order was announced.
However, any hope that ICE would comply with the court decision disappeared Tuesday morning.
Former City Comptroller Brad Lander called the situation a “constitutional crisis.”
“These arrests have been illegal for a year and now they directly violate a federal judge’s order. That is a constitutional crisis,” Lander told amNewYork. “That ICE ignores the order demonstrates their violent and lawless behavior. It is outrageous.”
An attorney, who asked to remain anonymous, explained that the court order should prohibit any civil arrest inside the courthouse, which would make this arrest a clear violation.
“Basically, there can be no civil immigration operations inside the court. If someone had pending criminal charges, that would have already been flagged due to their immigration status,” the source explained. “The presence of a person in court is not a violation; the problem is the application of the law within the court.”
Benjamin Remy, senior coordinating attorney for NYLAG’s Immigrant Protection Unit, said he was not surprised that ICE maintained a presence at 26 Federal Plaza despite the court ruling.
“That’s why I showed up in court today. For the past year, my colleagues and I have been in the halls of Lower Manhattan immigration court providing counseling to hundreds of family members of people illegally detained,” Remy said. “After nearly a year of suffering caused by ICE’s cruel and violent mass detention and deportation policies, the agency has shown that it has no plans to stop.”
U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman also issued a statement accusing the Department of Homeland Security of acting as if it could “make up the law.”
“My team and I are aware of reports of a man detained by ICE outside of his hearing at 26 Federal Plaza,” Goldman wrote in
Our sister publication, amNewYork, reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment on the arrest and apparent violation of the court order, but is still awaiting a response.
