A federal judge recently ordered United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement to allow members of Congress to inspect migrant holding rooms in New York City and other locations across the country.
The ruling follows a lawsuit filed earlier this year against the Trump administration by Representatives Dan Goldman, Adriano Espaillat, and several other Democratic lawmakers, who said they were blocked from entering ICE holding rooms in July.
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Judge Jia M. Cobb also prohibited ICE from enforcing a requirement that members of Congress provide one week’s notice before conducting inspection visits, a rule the agency introduced in recent months.
ICE spokespersons did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
New York members of Congress, including Goldman, Espaillat, Nydia Velázquez, and Jerry Nadler, have made multiple attempts to inspect the ICE holding rooms located on the tenth floor of 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan. The lawmakers argue that federal law entitles them to such oversight.
Federal statutes explicitly permit members of Congress to inspect facilities used to detain or otherwise house immigrants and allow them to do so without prior notice. ICE officials, however, have maintained that the holding rooms at 26 Federal Plaza are not subject to congressional oversight, claiming they function as a processing center for immigrants facing possible removal rather than as a detention facility.
In issuing the order, Judge Cobb stated that the lawmakers were likely to succeed in their ongoing legal challenge to the administration’s refusal to permit oversight visits.
The holding rooms at 26 Federal Plaza have drawn growing scrutiny following complaints from attorneys and detainees, who have described the conditions as inhumane.
In August, another federal judge ordered ICE to improve conditions at the facility. That order included limits on the number of people detained at one time and required the provision of sleeping mats and basic toiletries. Attorneys representing detainees are now asking the court to hold ICE in contempt, alleging the agency has failed to comply with those directives.
Recent court filings claim that detainees are being denied essential hygiene products, clean clothing, and access to phone calls with their attorneys while held in the facility.
The judge overseeing that related case, Lewis Kaplan, has ordered the deposition of William Joyce, ICE’s New York deputy field office director. The deposition will examine whether ICE has complied with the restrictions set out in Kaplan’s earlier rulings.
