Legal Action Challenges Conditions at NYC Immigration Detention Center

A coalition of advocacy groups has filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that undocumented immigrants detained in New York City are subjected to overcrowded, unsanitary, and inhumane conditions.

The complaint describes severely inadequate living conditions at the facility, citing reports previously covered by the Gothamist and the New York Times. Detainees are often forced to sleep on concrete floors, sometimes next to toilets, with the lights on, and are denied access to showers, medication, and hygiene supplies. For example, a stroke survivor experienced dangerously high blood pressure after not receiving his medication, and a woman on her period was left without menstrual products, wearing blood-soaked clothing for the duration of her detention.

Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, described the facility as “an inhumane disaster that has no place in our immigration system.”

The lawsuit targets the detention practices at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan, which houses a federal immigration court and an ICE field office. It claims that some individuals have been held for up to a week, despite ICE policies limiting detention to 12 hours. Data shows the average detention time in May and June was 29 hours, with 81 people confined for four or more days during that period.

Additionally, detainees are reported to receive only two small meals per day, far below the recommended every six hours, and are unable to communicate freely and confidentially with their attorneys, violating constitutional rights.

The legal action has drawn attention from Democratic lawmakers and advocates, highlighting ongoing concerns about ICE’s treatment of detainees. Multiple arrests and protests have taken place at the facility, with some officials, including lawmakers and city officials, attempting to access the site without success.

The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, names ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Kristi Noem, and Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons as defendants. Among those detained is Sergio Alberto Barco Mercado, who was held after a court appearance and has been denied access to legal counsel. Responses from authorities have not yet been provided.