ICE Agents Violate Federal Judge Order Blocking Court Arrests

Several ICE agents seemed to flout a federal judge’s blocking non-criminal arrests inside immigration courts by proceeding to arrest a man who had no criminal record within the immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza.

After months of ICE agents circling NYC immigration courts and detaining immigrants onsite whose cases had been dismissed, Federal Judge P. Kevin Castel issued a stay Monday May 18 to prohibit arrests during legally mandated court hearings at courthouses 26 Federal Plaza, 290 Broadway, and 201 Varick Street, provided no crime had occurred and there was no threat to public safety. Only in certain circumstances, under 2021 internal policy exceptions to the judge’s order, is the agency allowed to make immigration arrests in the courthouse, which has become a routine deportation trap for many unknowing immigrants under the Trump Administration’s .

Despite the order, ICE agents seemed to disregard and violate the judge’s temporary pause on courthouse arrests less than 24 hours later, detaining a 21 year-old outside a courtroom on the 12th floor of Federal Plaza, witnesses reported.

Prior to the arrest, immigration advocacy groups had praised Judge Castel’s order, declaring it a cautious win after a year of legal battles over courtroom arrests.

Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigration Coalition, said the order provides immigrants in NYC with the essential freedom to attend court hearings without fear of detainment or harassment from ICE agents.

“Every immigrant New Yorker deserves the ability to access immigration courts and navigate legal proceedings without fear of being unlawfully detained or separated from their family,” Awawdeh wrote in a statement. “ICE’s courthouse arrests have sown fear in New York’s immigrant communities, discouraging people from showing up to court and undermining trust in the legal process by targeting individuals at the moment they are complying with federal law requirements. Today’s decision is a vital step toward restoring a semblance of accountability and due process for everyone navigating New York City’s immigration courts. This court order must be fully followed by ICE, the detention center at 26 Federal Plaza must finally be closed, and all New Yorkers who have been unlawfully tricked and trapped at their court appearances must be immediately reunited with their families.”

Following the stay Monday, The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) denounced the judge’s order in a statement to the New York Times, while ICE agents continued to intimidatingly remain present in Federal Plaza and 290 Broadway, another immigrant courthouse.

Then, on the morning of Tuesday May 19, ICE agents appeared to explicitly violate the judge’s order, detaining a Honduran man after a routine hearing. There was no clear evidence present that the arrest fell under one of the exceptions to the judge’s ban on courtroom arrests, according to witnesses at the scene.

Later on May 19, the New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) in collaboration with New York University confirmed it would represent the man arrested, who they identified as Alexander. In the evening, NYLAG reported to The CITY news service that Alexander had been released from ICE’s custody and was awaiting a federal judge response to the immediate habeas lawsuit they had filed.

Benjamin Remy, a senior attorney for NYLAG’s Immigrant Protection Unit, said immigration law advocacy groups will continue to support those facing persecution from ICE, saying “We’re not shocked that ICE kept their presence in 26 Federal Plaza despite Judge Castel’s ruling yesterday. That’s why I showed up at court today. For the last year, myself and fellow NYLAG attorneys have stood in the hallways at lower Manhattan immigration court giving counsel to hundreds of family members and loved ones of those unlawfully detained.”

“After almost a year of countless people suffering at the hands of ICE’s cruel and violent mass detention and deportation policy, ICE has proven that they don’t plan to stop,” Remy added.