ICE in courts: Game of ‘justice roulette’ continues at Federal Plaza as Lander pushes for more legal funding

Onlookers described immigration court in Lower Manhattan as a “war zone” Thursday while observing another day of masked ICE agents dragging away immigrants as their relatives wept. 

Photo by Dean Moses

Onlookers described immigration court in Lower Manhattan as a “war zone” Thursday while observing another day of masked ICE agents dragging away immigrants as their relatives wept. 

Federal agents stood in the middle of the hallway on the 12th floor of 26 Federal Plaza, serving as a human blockade to prevent journalists and court observers from bearing witness to what many are calling abductions.

“Don’t touch me,” a woman who identified herself as an attorney yelled as the agents ripped her client from her grasp.

City Comptroller Brad Lander was once again on hand at 26 Federal Plaza on Aug. 7 to observe court proceedings. He condemned ICE for seemingly grabbing hold of immigrants first, then asking questions later — referencing one man he observed being hauled away Thursday.

“They grabbed him and dragged him into a stairwell without asking his identity, without knowing who he was, without seeing if he matched the papers. They separated him from his lawyer, dragged him into a hallway, then apparently they concluded he was not the individual that they were seeking, and they let him out downstairs, where he was able to reconnect with his lawyer,” Lander said. “But you know what? Law enforcement is not allowed to grab and abduct people with no idea who they are, separate you from your lawyer. They have no warrant, they have no case.”

Earlier that morning, just as court was getting underway, one man was taken into custody in front of his wife. She was left uncontrollably sobbing and inconsolable, her cries echoing throughout the corridors.

The chaotic and emotional situation left one passerby to comment, “It’s like a war zone.”

Immigration court becomes an ‘abduction trap’: Lander

For more than three months now, ICE operations have taken place in the halls of the immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza. Immigrants arrive there every day for court-mandated hearings, and whether they’ll walk out of Federal Plaza free — or are seized by ICE — is seemingly a game of “justice roulette,” as Lander described.

Federal agents are seen in the hallways rifling through paperwork, looking for certain individuals on the docket that day. Lander argues that the process appears to be a random twist of fate.

“Some people are going to walk out of that courtroom, and some people are going to be abducted and detained, and nobody knows who it will be, including the judges,” Lander said. “The awful Hunger Games of justice roulette that’s playing out in these buildings, where, instead of the courtrooms being used as meaningful courtrooms, they’re being used as abduction traps.”

Those most vulnerable to the “trap” are those who come to immigration court without legal representation — the vast minority of those who enter the building.

They are not only left to navigate complex legal proceedings without professional aid; if they are detained, they may languish in custody, their fate seemingly unknown to their families.

Lander continues to stress that the city and state must provide funding for lawyers to represent immigrants on a pro bono basis in order to keep them out of ICE custody.

“I really plead with the state legislature and the governor on the state money and with the city as well,” Lander said.