New York, NY—Today, Senior Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Lewis Kaplan issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) requiring that ICE meet baseline conditions for holding people on the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza including proper spacing, bedding, food, water, hygiene, clean clothes, medication, access to a doctor and legal phone calls.
Murad Awawdeh, President and CEO, New York Immigration Coalition:
“No New Yorker should fear being abducted because they went to immigration court to follow our country’s legal immigration process. Similarly, no person should be subject to the inhumane conditions of the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza if they are abducted and detained. ICE has repeatedly lied and skirted accountability about what is happening on the 10th floor, as people are being detained for days or weeks at a time without basic care. Today’s decision by Judge Lewis Kaplan is a step forward towards justice for the people – and their families – who have been detained there. But for many, who have been shipped to far-away detention facilities and even deported, this action has come far too late. ICE must immediately end courthouse enforcement operations in New York City, grant members of Congress access to all detention facilities as required by law, and the shadow 10th floor detention center must be shut down permanently.”