The New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), an umbrella policy and advocacy organization that represents over 200 immigrant and refugee rights groups throughout New York, said on Tuesday, July 22, that a new video shows inhumane conditions inside the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Detention Center at 26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan.
“Today, newly released video shows what immigrant New Yorkers have been telling their families and attorneys for months: the 10th Floor of 26 Federal Plaza is an ICE detention facility,” NYIC said. “ICE has repeatedly claimed that the 10th Floor is not subject to Congressional oversight because it is classified as a holding center.”
According to Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, “26 Federal Plaza is not a detention center. It is a Federal building with an ICE law enforcement office inside of it.”
But NYIC said the video backs up what has been widely communicated by people inside: “they are detained there for days and weeks at a time without showers, medication or a change of clothes, sleeping on the floor, and with minimal food and outside contact.”
Assistant Secretary McLaughlin also said, “Any claim that there is overcrowding or subprime conditions is categorically false.”
However, NYIC said the video shows people detained on the 10th Floor are being held in crowded and unsanitary conditions.
NYIC said that, “on May 20, federal agents began making arrests and disappearing people after they left their immigration court cases at 26 Federal Plaza, 290 Broadway, and 201 Varick St..“
On June 8, NYIC said US Congressmembers Nydia Velázquez, Adriano Espaillat, Dan Goldman, and Jerry Nadler have been “categorically denied their legal authority to view the detention facility on multiple attempted visits.”
NYIC said all members of Congress have the authority to “conduct unannounced inspections of detention facilities holding individuals in federal immigration custody,” under 2019’s Congressional Public Law 116-93, Sec. 405 (this was further codified by 2025’s Congressional Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, Sec. 527.a).
“All New Yorkers should be able to attend their immigration court cases without being separated from their families simply because they followed the process,” Murad Awawdeh, NYIC’s president and CEO, told Caribbean Life. “ICE is kidnapping so many people from New York’s immigration courts that they had to create a new detention facility on the 10th Floor of 26 Federal Plaza.
“But instead of sharing the truth with the public, ICE has skirted accountability by consistently lying about what’s happening on the 10th floor, and breaking the law by not allowing Congress members to view the conditions,” he added. “New Yorkers deserve accountability and justice at 26 Federal Plaza and must be able to safely attend their court proceedings without fear of being detained and disappeared.
“The 10th Floor detention facility must be shut down immediately, and regularly inspected to ensure that ICE adheres to federal guidelines as mandated by law,” Awawdeh demanded.
Velázquez said the 10th Floor at 26 Federal Plaza has become “the epicenter of the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign in New York City.
“Since May, ICE has been snatching New Yorkers off the streets and out of immigration court and taking them to this floor,” she said. “They’ve claimed it’s not a detention facility, just a ‘processing center,’ to block Members of Congress from exercising our legal right to conduct oversight.
“They’ve also dismissed repeated reports of overcrowding and inhumane conditions,” Velázquez added. “This video confirms what we’ve feared all along: ICE has been lying and locking us out to hide what’s happening inside.
“There is no more excuse. ICE must grant Members of Congress immediate access to the 10th Floor and shut this facility down,” the U.S. Rep. continued.
“The conditions on the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza are a blatant violation of human rights and due process, and I was deeply alarmed by recently uncovered video footage showing immigrants detained by ICE forced to sleep on filthy floors, share a single bathroom among nearly 30 people, and endure inhumane treatment,” said U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat.
“The environment in which these individuals are being forced to remain is indicative of the Trump administration’s sentiment towards immigrants as disposable and serves as further justification to continue to demand oversight and accountability at these facilities,” he added. “This video demonstrates a moral and legal failure that demands immediate action.”
NYS Assembly Member Catalina Cruz said: “It is outrageous that 26 Federal Plaza—a building that was once seen as a key step towards the so-called American dream is now being weaponized to impose a living nightmare on our immigrant neighbors.
“This building is now being used to detain immigrants in cruel and oppressive conditions,” she said. “Our courts are not supposed to be tools of surveillance or entrapment. When someone walks into a courtroom to fight for their rights, they should not be met with the threat of being snatched by ICE and thrown into a holding cell with no access to basic dignity.
“This is a calculated attack on immigrant communities, and it undermines the very foundation of our legal system,” Cruz added. “People with legitimate claims deserve a fair chance to be heard—not to be ambushed, detained, and treated like criminals for simply showing up.
“As such, we call for the full and immediate shutdown of this detainment center at 26 Federal Plaza,” she continued. “If we want to restore human dignity, this must stop now.”
NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said, “Time and time again, the Trump administration has demonstrated a blatant willingness to disregard the rule of law in ways that endanger us all.
“ICE must stop violating Constitutional rights, disappearing people, and disincentivizing them from participating in their immigration court cases,” she said. “No one is above the law or basic accountability, and the reports from inside 26 Federal Plaza and denying access to officials with legal authority to inspect the facilities only illustrate Trump administration officials’ belief that they don’t have to respect the Constitution and federal laws.
“This continued unlawful behavior by federal officials makes our city and country less safe,” Speaker Adams added.
As Chair of the NYC Council’s Committee on Immigration, Council Member Alexa Avilés said she has “long called on the Trump administration to suspend its clear violations of due process and human rights.
“Today, I echo those calls as footage confirms that ICE is unlawfully using offices within 26 Federal Plaza as a detention facility,” she said. “From Florida to New York, people are being held in deplorable and inhumane conditions, many of whom were, in fact, following immigration laws.
“This is not about public safety; these actions are focused on dehumanizing and harming immigrant New Yorkers, and it needs to end now,” Avilés added.
