Eleven Democratic elected officials were arrested on September 18, 2025, inside Manhattan’s 26 Federal Plaza after demanding access to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) holding area, escalating tensions in the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign. The group, including New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and state lawmakers like Senators Jabari Brisport, Gustavo Rivera, and Julia Salazar, staged a sit-in on the 10th floor, unfurling a banner reading “NYers Against ICE” and chanting for oversight of detention conditions.
The officials sought to inspect the facility, where migrants are held post-hearings amid reports of overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, and rights violations. A federal judge recently extended a restraining order mandating improvements, but ICE denies operating a full detention center, calling it a short-term processing space. Denied entry, the protesters refused to leave, leading to their arrest by Department of Homeland Security officers around 3:45 p.m. They were zip-tied, processed on the 30th floor, and released within an hour with federal misdemeanor summonses for obstructing corridors.
Outside, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Council Members Sandy Nurse and Tiffany Cabán were among four more officials detained by NYPD for blocking the garage used by ICE vans. In total, 71 protesters were arrested, including activists waving signs demanding ICE’s removal from New York. The coalition called for the New York for All Act to limit local-ICE cooperation and the NYC Trust Act to protect immigrants.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin decried the “agitators and sanctuary politicians,” accusing them of shielding criminals. Gov. Kathy Hochul condemned the arrests as “bullshit,” vowing to fight federal overreach. The incident highlights New York’s sanctuary status clashing with Trump’s raids, with more protests expected as deportations surge.
