Nearly A Dozen New York City Officials Arrested After Demanding Access To ICE Holding Cells

Federal officers arrested 11 Democratic elected officials in Lower Manhattan on Thursday after they demanded access to Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding rooms.

The sit-ins unfolded hours after a federal judge ordered ICE to improve conditions at the 10th-floor holding area at 26 Federal Plaza, requiring cleanliness standards, limits on crowding and prompt access to legal calls, according to The New York Times. Lawmakers said they sought to verify compliance; Department of Homeland Security personnel refused entry and moved to make arrests inside, while New York Police Department officers cuffed others outside during a related blockade.

“This afternoon I faced arrest alongside dozens of New Yorkers in a nonviolent civil disobedience to demand oversight of ICE’s inhumane detention practices,” New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams said in a statement.

Multiple arrests of officials and immigration advocates happening now pic.twitter.com/R86xmJc4eU

— Kelly Mena (@KellyMena) September 18, 2025

City Comptroller Brad Lander was among those detained by federal officers inside the building, while Williams was taken into custody outside with demonstrators, on-scene video shows.

U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan granted a preliminary injunction Wednesday directing ICE to improve conditions on the floor, building on an August temporary restraining order that barred cramped, unsanitary confinement and mandated confidential attorney calls. The new order requires, among other steps, increased space per detainee, hygiene supplies, sleeping mats and timely phone access.

The 26 Federal Plaza holding area has drawn scrutiny in recent weeks after a lawsuit over the alleged conditions at the facility. Kaplan said plaintiffs were likely to succeed on claims that conditions violated constitutional rights, according to court filings.

Thursday’s arrests came months after Lander was briefly detained by ICE agents during a separate confrontation at the same complex in June, an incident captured on video and widely condemned by New York officials.