Mayor Adams seeks inspection of ICE holding facility in Manhattan amid Trump immigration crackdown

Yahoo

4 days ago

NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams has asked the federal General Services Administration to immediately inspect the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza amid outrage over accounts of inhumane treatment in ICE's detention of asylum-seekers.
Adams cited news reports and recent footage of the site, showing people in squalid conditions sleeping on emergency aluminum blankets near toilets, which has cast doubt on claims by the Department of Homeland Security that the facility is being used as a short-term processing center and not a de facto jail.
The issue has become more acute as ICE escalates its campaign to detain and deport migrants amid a Trump administration crackdown.
DHS has made the distinction between processing and detention in explaining why it has barred members of Congress from inspecting the facility. The mayor referenced publicly available data showing people have been detained at 26 Federal Plaza on average for more than four days at a time as of mid-June.
'The lack of clarity and transparency surrounding the facility's current use raises serious concerns,' reads the mayor's letter to Michael Rigas, the acting administrator of GSA, which manages federally owned and leased properties.
'New York City has a strong interest in ensuring that basic human rights are being respected anywhere in its jurisdiction, and therefore are seeking your cooperation in conducting an inspection of the 10th Floor of 26 Federal Plaza to ensure it is compliant with the Constitution and federal law.'
DHS refused elected officials, including New York Democratic Reps. Adriano Espaillat and Nydia Velázquez, access to the 10th floor last month, claiming it wasn't a detention center.
Footage captured inside the facility released by advocates this week shows more than two dozen people in a cramped, windowless room, sleeping on makeshift beds and appearing to wear the clothes they were detained in.
The New York Immigration Coalition, the civic group that obtained the videos taken by a constituent of Assembly member Catalina Cruz, says the footage backs up accounts of people being detained in unbearable heat without access to medication, showers, proper meals and other necessities.
In a statement to the Daily News, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin doubled down on claims that there is no detention facility but a 'processing center where illegal aliens are briefly processed to be transferred to an ICE detention facility,' while also acknowledging a need for help from state and local governments in securing beds and detention space capacity.
'Any claim that there is overcrowding or subprime conditions at ICE facilities are categorically false. All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers,' McLaughlin said.
'As we arrest and remove criminal illegal aliens and public safety threats from the U.S., ICE has worked diligently to obtain greater necessary detention space while avoiding overcrowding. Secretary (Kristi) Noem has called on states and local government to help with bed and detention space capacity.'
The majority of those detained at 26 Federal Plaza since May have not been accused of a crime, according to an analysis by The City.
Agents for Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been detaining migrants turning up to their court dates to formally apply for asylum, in many cases, moments after immigration judges had indicated they were safe in the country for the foreseeable future, the Daily News has reported.
The nature of the arrests has prompted criticism that immigration authorities are luring migrants to the building as a trap and targeting the lowest hanging fruit to fulfill Trump's mass deportation agenda.
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