The Department of Homeland Security’s early-year directive allowing courthouse arrests was put into action yesterday as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were present at the Varick Street and Federal Plaza Immigration Courts, both in downtown Manhattan.
Agents were dressed in plainclothes and carried lists and photos of the migrants they were targeting, according to witnesses. One source, who spoke to Documented anonymously, said that by noon, at least six people had been detained at Varick, including a family with a child.
Wednesday’s arrests follow the latest policies from the Trump administration aimed at curbing immigration across the country. ICE presence in immigration courts has also been reported in places like Las Vegas, Miami, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. In an effort to meet the deportation quotas promised by the new administration, authorities are now carrying out these types of “expedited removal” processes, according to a statement from Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the DHS, obtained by The New York Times.
Previously, courthouses across the country were considered “sensitive locations,” just like schools and churches. New York State also bars ICE from making a civil arrest in or on the property where a New York State courthouse is located. But yesterday’s arrests have cast questions on those laws in light of changes to federal policy. Fear was already driving immigrants to consider not attending their immigration court hearings despite the impact it could have on their cases. Recent events will only further exacerbate those fears.
At Federal Plaza, there were reports of at least four arrests allegedly conducted by ICE, including that of a pastor from Queens who attempted to intervene in one detention. A reporter from THE CITY also witnessed the detention of six men and one woman at Federal Plaza.
One source, who requested anonymity, told Documented that U.S. citizens present at the scene, monitoring or protesting, had also been arrested. “ICE is also arresting citizens who are monitoring what they are doing,” the source said.
So far, there is no official count of those detained at New York’s immigration courts in recent days, though it is widely agreed that the number of arrests has been increasing with ICE’s growing presence in the city.
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Yesterday afternoon, Father Fabián Arias, an Argentine religious leader who has spent decades assisting migrants in New York City, was denied entry into the Immigration Court located at 201 Varick Street in Lower Manhattan. This is the same court where ICE agents have detained several migrants in recent days.
Earlier that morning, Arias, 62, had been able to accompany an Ecuadorian family as they defended their asylum case before a judge. But hours later, when he tried to re-enter the Varick building, he was refused access.
“The detentions started early [Wednesday] morning, and now they are not letting anyone in,” Arias told Documented, waiting outside the courthouse on the overcast, rainy May afternoon.
Every week, Father Arias attends hearings with migrants, which are typically open to the public. But now everything has changed, he said. “It’s terrible what’s happening right now to the families and people presenting their cases before the judge.”
Arias said he has witnessed, for several weeks now, ICE agents detaining migrants as they appear in immigration court, but the situation has become more violent. “They’re doing it more aggressively now,” he said. Over six hours, according to his estimates, between 20 and 30 families were held in the building by federal agents.
‘Let me just say the incident is over’
A little after 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Congressman Jerrold “Jerry” Nadler, representing New York’s 12th Congressional District, emerged from the Varick court court to answer questions from activists and journalists eager to know what would happen to the migrants inside.
“Let me just say the incident is over,” he told the press. “Nobody was arrested. In the end, nothing happened. Everybody’s gone home.”
However, by that time, Documented had observed that no one had exited the building — at least not through the Varick Street entrance.
Nadler also refused to confirm whether DHS officers had been in his office, whether a pastor had been detained, or whether there had been a confrontation involving activists supporting migrants on the building’s 5th floor.
What Nadler did confirm was that “the Trump administration is clearly violating the spirit and very possibly the letter of the law.”
He also cited the high-profile case of Salvadoran Kilmar Abrego García, whom the government claimed had been sent to the Terrorism Detention Center (CECOT) “by administrative error,” as an example of the administration’s violations. García was part of a group of more than 200 men sent to the mega-prison in El Salvador. Documented also previously reported on the cases of Venezuelan youths Merwil Gutiérrez and Ángel Blanco Marin, two Bronx residents sent to El Salvador as alleged criminals.
Why “expedited deportation” is happening
Although experts believe there are no clear specific reasons why certain migrants are detained while others are not, Florida immigration attorney Liudmila Marcelo, who represents clients all across the country, explained that they would most likely be “foreigners who have been in the country for less than two years, those without an asylum case in court, or those whose asylum claims the judge deems insufficient and unworthy of a final court hearing.”
Marcelo explained that DHS and ICE are acting in accordance with a memo from January 23, which defines which foreign nationals present in the U.S. are subject to expedited removal proceedings.
“What’s happening in court is that DHS is filing a motion with the judge to dismiss charges. If the individual agrees to this request, the judge dismisses the case, leaving the person without a court case or asylum to defend,” Marcelo said. “Once you’re without the protection of a case in court, you no longer have the right to defend your asylum before the judge, and you’re at the government’s mercy to initiate deportation proceedings.”
According to the immigration lawyer, in the past it was good news if a judge dismissed the case, because it allowed the immigrant to continue the regularization process. Now, the dismissal of the case implies deportation. Marcelo believes it is a “deceptive” procedure.
“In this way, they trick the affected person into accepting to remain unprotected and, therefore, immediately subject him or her to an expedited deportation process,” she said.
Both Marcelo and Father Arias agree that many of the people detained in recent days appeared before the judge without the assistance of an attorney, which has become more difficult for migrants since funding for legal support organizations has been cut.
“In general, they are people who have appeared without lawyers, making them much more vulnerable,” Arias said.
However, attorney Marcelo advises that they should keep going to court, even without a lawyer.
“Those who have been in the U.S. for less than two years and have an upcoming court date should consult with an attorney and consider having legal representation at that hearing,” she said. If a person doesn’t have a lawyer, the attorney advises, “Do not accept DHS’s offer to dismiss your case. And if you are detained, find a lawyer immediately. Missing your court date is not an option.”
Outrage among New Yorkers over detentions
Outside the Varick Street building, many people gathered to show support for the migrants detained by ICE. Some held signs that read “Migrants are New York now” or “Democracies don’t do this.”
Karen Ortiz, an administrative judge and Manhattan resident, carried a sign that said, “Trump is the terrorist!” She was outraged by what was happening in New York City.
“I strongly believe that immigrants are very important to this country, and I am just disgusted by how my government treats those who are simply looking for a life, just to build one,” she said. “It’s horrible. I think we need to show up in big numbers to show the community that we support immigrants.”
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Ortiz said the authorities “are perverting the process to achieve their own intolerant ends.”
“I think the deal between ICE and whoever is allowing them into immigration courts is unethical, and I think in a few years, when we look back on this historic moment, people will be ashamed that they allowed this to happen in a city like New York,” Ortiz said.
News of the recent detentions has terrified the migrant community in New York. Many fear going to work or taking their children to school since Mayor Eric Adams has shown cooperation with the Trump administration’s policies.This week, it was reported that Dylan, a 20-year-old Venezuelan student from the Bronx, was detained by ICE agents after his hearing at the 290 Broadway courthouse, which he attended without a lawyer, according to Chalkbeat. In April, ICE announced that its agents, along with allied New York police officers, had detained 206 undocumented immigrants during an operation.
