MANHATTAN — A dozen Democratic members of Congress, including two from New York City, are suing the Trump administration for repeatedly barring them from accessing ICE holding areas despite a federal law promising them access to detention facilities on demand.
Reps. Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat joined the lawsuit along with seven other House Democrats from Texas, Colorado and California. They were blocked from entering the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza, where dozens of immigrants are held on any given night, sometimes for days at a time.
The 67-page lawsuit was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday by the nonprofit Democracy Forward. The members of Congress argue that federal law guarantees them the right to conduct announced visits to any location used by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to “detain or otherwise house noncitizens.”
Recent policy changes by the President Donald Trump’s administration — including requiring advanced notice from Congress members and completely barring access to so-called field offices like the 10th Floor of 26 Federal Plaza — violate those protections, the suit alleges.
The litigation comes amid mounting concerns about conditions inside 26 Federal Plaza as ICE arrests have surged. ICE says it uses the 10th floor as a central processing area for people detained inside the city’s immigration courthouses at mandatory check-ins with the agency, or cuffed in raids.
Immigrants and their advocates have raised alarms about limited access to food and medical care, as well as overcrowding in the holding facility. Last week, THE CITY published a video, taken by a man locked inside one of the cells, that shows dozens of men lying on the ground and sitting on benches in a single room, with two toilets, separated by nothing but a waist-high wall.
ICE detention data analyzed by THE CITY shows dozens of people have been spending the night inside the holding floor, 29 hours on average, and some have spent as many as eight days inside without access to showers or a change of clothes and limited food.
Espaillat and Rep. Nydia Velázquez first tried to enter the floor on June 8, and Goldman joined Rep. Jerry Nadler in an attempt on June 18, nine days after they’d first emailed ICE requesting access. All four were turned away.
During the June 18 visit, Goldman and Nadler spent about 15 minutes in the lobby of 26 federal Plaza where William Joyce, the deputy director of the New York ICE field office, told the representatives and a gaggle of reporters that detained people sometimes spent days on the floor and benches, as ICE detention facilities were “nearing capacity.”
Espaillat and Velázquez returned on July 14 and were again barred from entering.
‘Just Schedule a Tour’
Asked about the lawsuit, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement: “These members of Congress could have just scheduled a tour; instead, they’re running to court to drive clicks and fundraising emails.”
“As ICE law enforcement has seen a surge in assaults, disruptions and obstructions to enforcement — including by members of Congress themselves — any requests to tour processing centers and field offices must be approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security,” McLaughlin said.
“As for visits to detention facilities, requests should be made with sufficient time to prevent interference with the President’s Article II authority to oversee executive department functions — a week is sufficient to ensure no intrusion on the President’s constitutional authority. To protect the President’s Article II authority, any request to shorten that time must be approved by the Secretary.”
The agency didn’t address questions about the two prior requests Goldman’s office had made to DHS ahead of his and Nadler’s attempted visit on June 18. The agency at the time first said they were reviewing the request to tour the field office, and then subsequently told Goldman he couldn’t enter, according to the lawsuit.
DHS has repeatedly denied reports that immigrants are enduring inhumane conditions in 26 Federal Plaza and has maintained that Congress members aren’t allowed in because it’s not an official detention facility.
City Comptroller Brad Lander and Public Advocate Jumanne Williams have called on the Department of Buildings and the FDNY to conduct inspections of the floor to enforce local safety codes. Mayor Eric Adams counters that the city has no authority to inspect federal buildings, but last week asked the General Services Administration (GSA), the federal agency that runs the building, to inspect the floor.
A spokesperson for the GSA said the agency has no authority to inspect areas overseen by ICE and referred questions to the Office of the Inspector General at the Department of Homeland Security. That office has not responded to multiple requests for comment from THE CITY.
