11 Dem Officials Arrested at NYC ICE Facility

More than a dozen elected officials were arrested Thursday while protesting conditions at a New York City immigration holding facility where a federal judge this week extended a court order requiring the government to shape up its treatment of detainees.

The officials — including the city’s fiscal watchdog and state lawmakers — were among 77 people detained during protests at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan.

Eleven officials were arrested inside the building while attempting to inspect holding rooms on the 10th floor that are the subject of ongoing litigation alleging squalid conditions and overcrowding, according to a coalition of politicians, advocates and faith leaders involved in the protest.

They were given summonses and released.

The officials had gone to the holding facility to see if US Immigration and Customs Enforcement was complying with a preliminary injunction issued Wednesday that requires the agency to limit capacity, ensure cleanliness and provide sleeping mats, among other remedies, the coalition said.

But federal agents barred them from entering the holding rooms and arrested them as news reporters and photographers documented the scene.

The arrests happened as the officials were conducting a sit-in in the hallway, encircled around a sign showing a slash through the word “ICE.”

Agents bound their hands with plastic ties, lined them up against a wall and paraded them down a hall.

Outside, police arrested dozens of people, including politicians, advocates and religious leaders, who were protesting in front of a garage entrance used by vans transporting immigrants to and from the detention facility.

Other officials who were detained included the city’s public advocate, Jumaane Williams; Democratic state Sen. Julia Salazar; and City Council Member Tiffany Caban.