State and city lawmakers arrested at 26 Federal Plaza

More than a dozen city and state elected officials were arrested Thursday while participating in a protest at the federal building that houses immigration courts in lower Manhattan. 

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, state Sens. Jabari Brisport, Julia Salazar and Gustavo Rivera and Assembly Members Bobby Carroll, Emily Gallagher, Jessica González-Rojas, Marcela Mitaynes, Claire Valdez, Tony Simone and Steven Raga were arrested by U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents after attempting to gain access to the 10th floor of the building, which U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has turned into a makeshift detention facility.

In addition, city Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Assembly Member Phara Souffrant Forrest and New York City Council Members Sandy Nurse and Tiffany Cabán were arrested by New York City Police Department officers outside the building.

The elected officials arrested inside the building had requested access to the 10th floor to determine whether ICE was complying with a recent court order requiring the agency to provide detainees with meals, sanitary products like soap and bedding, and access to attorneys, a spokesperson for Jews for Racial and Economic Justice – one of the groups organizing the direct action – told City & State. She said that those arrested outside the building had attempted to peacefully block a garage that serves as an entry and exit point for vehicles used by ICE to transport immigrant detainees.

The 11 elected officials who were arrested inside the building were taken up to the 30th floor, where they were processed and then released. Each was each issued a misdemeanor violation notice stating that they had violated 41 CFR 102-74.390(b) – a Class C misdemeanor which prohibits “unreasonably obstruct(ing) the usual use of entrances, foyers, lobbies, corridors, offices, elevators, stairways, or parking lots” – and told that they would be mailed a federal court summons. The federal misdemeanor charge technically carries a maximum sentence of 30 days in jail, though the arrested officials will most likely just have to pay a fine – assuming federal prosecutors don’t just drop the charges.

This is not the first time that elected officials have been arrested in 26 Federal Plaza. In June, Lander, who was then running in the Democratic primary for mayor, was arrested by federal agents in a hallway outside of an immigration courtroom while working with JFREJ to escort immigrants to and from their court hearings.

In a statement about Thursday’s action, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin zeroed in on Lander. ““Another day, another sanctuary politician pulling a stunt in attempt to get their 15 minutes of fame while endangering DHS personnel and detainees,” she wrote, adding that more than 70 demonstrators were arrested. “Here are the facts: Brad Lander showed up to 26 Federal Plaza unannounced with agitators and media and proceeded to obstruct law enforcement and cause a scene.”

In addition to JFREJ, Thursday’s direct action was organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, the Sunrise Movement, Make the Road New York, the National Day Labor Organizing Network and the Immigrant Defense Project.

Other elected officials – state Sen. Robert Jackson, Assembly Members Harvey Epstein and Alex Bores and Council Member Alexa Avilés – also attended the action outside the building but were not arrested.

“There were dozens of people sitting in the driveway blocking the vans, chanting, sitting down, being peaceful, but speaking with one loud voice on the need for change,” Bores told City & State. A new father, he added that he chose to leave the action before any arrests were made, not wanting “to spend even a night separated from (his) newborn,” noting how inhumane it is that the federal government now routinely separates immigrant New Yorkers from their children indefinitely.  

The 11 elected officials who were arrested by DHS inside were released relatively quickly and later held a press conference outside of 26 Federal Plaza, while the four elected officials arrested outside the building were taken to 1 Police Plaza to be processed. 

The offices of a number of the elected officials who were arrested released statements condemning ICE. 

“This afternoon I faced arrest alongside dozens of New Yorkers in a (display of) nonviolent civil disobedience to demand oversight of ICE’s inhumane detention practices,” Williams said in a statement. “Even under this creeping authoritarianism regime, I expect to be released today to go home to my family, but the people we’re fighting for don’t have that privilege, as ICE disappears, and deports them.”

“If we want to live in a democracy, we have to actually fight for it,” Rivera said during a press conference outside the federal building Thursday. “And what we see here today is exactly the opposite of that.” He also characterized the federal government as a “fascist dictatorship that is trying to take over our country.”

“Today, I stood in solidarity with elected colleagues, advocates and faith leaders in the halls of 26 Federal Plaza,” González-Rojas said in a statement. “We put our bodies on the line for the lives and freedom of thousands of New Yorkers who have been illegally kidnapped and detained by ICE”

González-Rojas also called for the passage of three pieces of legislation: the New York for All Act, a state bill that would prohibit local law enforcement from collaborating with ICE; the Access to Representation Act, which would ensure all New Yorkers have the right to legal representation in immigration cases; and the NYC Trust Act, a City Council bill that would prevent city agencies from working with ICE.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has so far declined to publicly support the New York for All Act and the Access to Representation Act, but she was quick to condemn the arrests of the lawmakers. 

“I’ll say it again: This is bullshit. Locking up lawmakers for demanding dignity won’t make America safer,” she said. 

Local officials may not have control over immigration policy, but Carroll called for the governor to shut off electricity to the building. 

“She has the power to direct the Department of Public Service to turn the power off because there is an emergency, because they are violating not just the law, but the health and safety of every individual in that building,” Carroll said.