Lawmakers arrested demanding entry to immigrant detention at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan
Nearly a dozen New York elected officials were arrested by Department of Homeland Security officers on Thursday afternoon in a protest at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in Lower Manhattan.
The elected officials, mainly members of the state Senate and Assembly, refused to leave the premises after being refused entry into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding rooms for detained immigrants on the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza.
The sprawling site, home to federal government operations including immigration court, has been a flashpoint in the Trump administration's "mass deportation" initiative. As a matter of routine, immigrants leaving the immigration courtroom have been arrested by ICE agents after their cases are dismissed by judges.
City Comptroller Brad Lander was among the officials who were arrested. Lander was previously arrested by federal officers at an immigration court in the same building when he was escorting an immigrant man away from his court hearing.
Immigrants' rights advocates have sued the Trump administration, contending that conditions in the 10th floor holding areas are cramped and "inhumane."
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
