In response to repeated threats from Trump administration officials that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents would “flood New York City,” immigrant rights groups held two protest rallies in Manhattan on the 28th, chanting “Disband ICE” and “Trump resign.”
The Trump administration has recently repeatedly stated it will take larger-scale immigration enforcement actions in New York. On the 21st, “Border Czar” Tom Homan announced that a large number of ICE agents would be deployed to New York City; the Department of Justice subsequently filed a lawsuit against New York City’s “sanctuary city” policy.
At noon on the 28th, dozens of protesters led by the grassroots group “Refuse Fascism” protested in front of 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan, blowing whistles and chanting slogans, demanding an immediate end to immigration raids and arbitrary arrests. Father Nathanael Saint-Pierre, a priest at St. Augustine Church on the Lower East Side, who participated in the protest, stated that prayer is no longer enough in the current situation; action is necessary.
In addition to the midday demonstration, “Stop Fascism” also held another protest in City Hall Park in the evening. The midday crowd was small, a group spokesperson said, likely due to the high temperatures and the fact it was a weekday. “Given the current situation, many people are indeed hesitant to speak out.”
Amny reported that as the protests were raging, several more people were taken away by ICE agents after their hearings in the immigration courthouse above the protest site; as many as five people were taken away in just two hours.
It’s unclear whether these detainees face specific charges. However, recent data released by ABC News last month indicated that 35% of immigrants arrested by ICE in New York City were not convicted criminals.
According to Amny, one man was manhandled by ICE agents, forcibly removed from a hallway, and then taken to an immigration detention facility on the 10th floor of the building. A video recently released by the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) shows deplorable conditions and unsanitary conditions at the detention facility. The protest group stated that the prolonged detention of innocent immigrants there is inhumane.
Although several elected officials have attempted to access the facility for on-site inspections, ICE has denied them. New York City Mayor Eric Adams stated that he has written to the federal government requesting permission to inspect the actual conditions at the detention facility.
