A federal judge on Tuesday said he would block the Trump administration from using a federal building in New York City to hold immigrants facing deportation unless it reduces the number of detainees and improves conditions at the site, including by providing sleeping mats and hygiene products.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan issued the temporary restraining order after holding a hearing earlier Tuesday. A government lawyer conceded in court that those detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, at the Manhattan facility did not have access to certain services, including sleeping mats, in-person legal visits, medication and more than two meals per day.
The holding facility in question, located inside the 26 Federal Plaza building in downtown Manhattan, has been at the center of widespread criticism from pro-immigrant advocates, who have denounced conditions faced by detainees there as “inhumane.” Video released last month showed detainees at the facility lying on the ground, without mats or beds.
ICE has said the site has fewer services because it is not designed for long-term detention, though government data indicates some detainees have been held for days there.
In a statement Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security denied allegations of substandard conditions in ICE’s detention system and vowed to appeal the order.
“Any claim of subprime conditions at ICE facilities are categorically false,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in the statement. “Federal Plaza operates as a processing center, brief intake for illegal aliens, and then transfer to an ICE detention center meeting national standards for care and custody, which are in most cases better than facilities which detain Americans.”
Last week, the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocates filed a lawsuit against ICE over the 26 Federal Plaza holding facility, alleging that detainees there were being held in unsafe and unsanitary conditions, without access to basic necessities, including hygiene products. The advocates said detainees only received two “inedible” meals daily and were denied access to unrestricted calls with lawyers.
On Tuesday morning, Justice Department lawyer Jeffrey Oestericher said the government did not dispute that detainees at the facility only received blankets, not beds or sleeping mats. He confirmed detainees get two meals each day — not three — and that the toilets for detainees are inside the same area where they sleep. Oestericher said the facility does not permit in-person visitations due to its “layout” and noted the government did not dispute claims that detainees lack access to medication.
In his order later Tuesday, Kaplan placed restrictions on how many people ICE can hold at the Manhattan site, prohibiting the agency from using holding rooms with a floor area that is less than 50 square feet per detainee.
Kaplan said ICE could only hold people at the facility if it offered them regular calls with lawyers, clean bedding mats, know-your-rights notices, access to medication, soap, towels, toilet paper, toothpaste and feminine hygiene products. He also ordered ICE to ensure the holding areas are cleaned three times each day.
Tuesday’s temporary restraining order is set to last for 14 days. The Trump administration has repeatedly denied allegations of subpar conditions at ICE detention centers.
“Today’s order sends a clear message: ICE cannot hold people in abusive conditions and deny them their Constitutional rights to due process and legal representation,” said Eunice Cho, a senior attorney at the ACLU.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander called the ruling “a much-needed rebuke of Trump’s cruel immigration policies” in a statement Tuesday.
Video shows conditions for detainees at 26 Federal Plaza ICE facility
In July, the New York Immigration Coalition released a video, which was verified by CBS News New York, showing conditions on the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza.
On the video, it appears over two dozen people are being held together in one room. The person taking the video is heard saying, “Look how they have us here like dogs.”
The room does not appear to have any furniture in it. A number of people are seen laying or sitting on towels or foil blankets on the floor. There are two toilets with sinks in the back of the room, only separated by half walls with no doors. One of the two toilets is covered with a foil blanket.
The legal fight over the Manhattan holding facility comes at a time when ICE is detaining record numbers of people facing deportation. On Tuesday morning, ICE was holding nearly 60,000 detainees in detention centers throughout the U.S., according to internal agency data.
As part of President Trump’s government-wide crackdown on illegal immigration, ICE has sought to expand its detention system by bringing new facilities online, brokering agreements with states willing to convert local sites into immigration detention centers and using military bases, like Fort Bliss in Texas, as deportation staging hubs.
