U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement continued to make arrests this week in several court buildings in lower Manhattan where migrants arrive for their scheduled court hearings or routine immigration appointments.
On Friday Documented witnessed four agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) standing outside the 26 Federal Plaza building alongside the usual security guards from Paragon System Security who stand at the main entrance of the building to screen people as they enter.
Like most days, dozens were lined up in the morning to enter the building to attend their immigration appointments or complete legal check-ins. Next door, at the Ted Weiss Federal Building, located at 290 Broadway, others arrived for the same purpose.
Although Documented did not witness any arrests outside these locations on Friday morning, THE CITY reported that on Thursday morning there were about seven arrests outside the immigration court at 290 Broadway, where at least a dozen federal agents, some wearing masks, were guarding the lobby. On Wednesday, several arrests were also reported at these buildings, as well as at the immigration court on Varick Street.
A source, who spoke anonymously, told Documented that at noon on Wednesday, at least six people had been detained at Varick, including a family with a child. Father Fabián Arias, an Argentine religious leader who helps migrants in New York City, said that on the same day, between 20 and 30 families were detained in the building by federal agents. It was also reported that agents were arresting citizens present at the scene who intervened in the detentions.
Also Read: ‘It’s Terrible What’s Happening’: Panic at New York’s Immigration Courthouses Due to ICE Arrests
In a statement sent to Documented, Natalia Aristizabal, deputy director of Make the Road New York, said that the events of recent weeks involving federal agents at migrant hearings are “sickening.”
“These recent ICE arrests once again show the blatant disregard that this agency has towards immigrants and their rights — even when they are doing the right thing and showing up to their court appointments,” Aristizabal said. “When the government can turn due process rights on and off at-will, nobody is safe.”
She added that ICE’s presence in immigration courts “puts in jeopardy the very foundation of our immigration system and creates harmful effects for all New Yorkers who want to access our immigration courts and pursue lawful applications and relief.”
“Failing to appear in immigration court can have serious consequences”
The situation has sparked fear among many migrants in New York, who are confused and wary about attending their court hearings.
Palacios, a 28-year-old Venezuelan mother standing outside the 26 Federal Plaza building this Friday, told Documented she does not feel safe going to her court hearing scheduled for June. She asked to be identified only by her last name.
“I’m afraid to show up,” Palacios said. “I think it’s unfair. The court has become a double-edged sword. You have to come, but we also know ICE is here. If you don’t show up, that’s a problem. But when you leave, you don’t know if they’ll be waiting to arrest or deport you.”
The same fear takes hold of her husband, Galué, a 42-year-old Venezuelan who also asked to be identified only by his surname. Both he and Palacios arrived in the U.S. last year with their young daughters, aged 5 and 8, who have since adapted to life in New York City. He has a court date in August.
“I’m scared,” he said. “It was hard to make it here.”
Until last year, the law prevented federal agents from making arrests in or around New York State courthouses, except when a warrant was issued by a judge.
But after Donald Trump arrived in office on January 20th, things changed. A Department of Homeland Security memo, issued that same day, authorized agents to make arrests at so-called “sensitive locations,” such as churches, schools, and courthouses.
Lawyers strongly advise against skipping a court hearing.
Estuardo Cifuentes, director of programs at Proyecto Corazón, an organization that provides legal aid to immigrants across the country, told Documented that at least two migrant families in New York affected by this week’s arrests have asked them for legal help.
“It’s important to highlight that missing an immigration court hearing can carry serious legal consequences, including the risk of receiving a deportation order in absentia,” Cifuentes said.
Although the detention of certain migrants has no explainable pattern, attorney Liudmila Marcelo previously told Documented that it is mostly people who “have been in the country for less than two years, those who do not have an asylum case in court, or those whose asylum applications the judge considers insufficient and not worthy of a final court hearing.”
This week’s events fall in line with the White House’s goal of carrying out the largest deportation in U.S. history and speeding up deportations. In the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s term, the new administration had deported 65,000 migrants from across the country, according to Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, in a statement at the end of April. At the end of May, the administration further expanded their anti-immigration goals, demanding that federal agents arrest 3,000 people a day – or more than a million in a year.
Marcelo explained that DHS is currently filing motions with the judge to dismiss cases, which could result in expedited deportation proceedings. “What’s happening in court is that DHS is filing a motion with the judge to dismiss charges. If the individual agrees to this request, the judge dismisses the case, leaving the person without a court case or asylum to defend,” she said. “Once you’re without the protection of a case in court, you no longer have the right to defend your asylum before the judge, and you’re at the government’s mercy to initiate deportation proceedings.”
“We believe in America as a land of freedom”
The recent arrests at immigration courthouses have outraged immigrant advocates and community members in a city long regarded as a sanctuary city, safe for newcomers.
But that reality is shifting, as reports surface that local authorities may be cooperating with federal agents on immigration enforcement.
Although the number of migrants who have been detained in recent days when they appear before a judge is unknown at this time, reports show that this is happening across the country. Reports of ICE arrests outside immigration buildings have been seen in Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Phoenix.
Jean Berman, a Brooklyn resident and member of Grandparents Fight Back, a nonpartisan network of American grandparents, was outside Federal Plaza on Friday holding a sign protesting the arrests. Security officers denied her entry to the building when she asked if she could go inside.
“We are here to protest how our government is treating immigrants in general — and specifically, the illegal arrests and deportations to foreign countries, which we find outrageous and disturbing,” she said. “As Americans, we believe in the United States as a land of freedom, in due process, and in the right to be heard.”
Travis Morales, a Texas native who has lived in New York for 18 years and is part of the group Refuse Fascism, was standing outside and also voiced his anger at this situation.
“This […] Trump regime is targeting people because of where they’re from, their skin color, and their language,” he said. “We don’t have much time. We need to be out in the streets soon. This regime cannot stay in power. It’s a crisis, and we must act now.”
