City officials are calling for a probe into the conditions at 26 Federal Plaza, where migrants detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs agents are being held.
“These are not criminals; these are people who are following the legal process to be in this country,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said on Wednesday.
What You Need To Know
- City officials are calling for a probe into the conditions at 26 Federal Plaza, where migrants detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs agents are being held
- Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and City Comptroller Brad Lander fired off a letter to the Department of Buildings and the FDNY on Tuesday asking that they immediately inspect the ad hoc detention facility on the 10th floor
- The letter comes following recently released videos from the New York Immigration Coalition showing migrants being held in squalid conditions at the building
He was alongside City Comptroller Brad Lander denouncing the inhumane conditions at 26 Federal Plaza.
The duo fired off a letter to the Department of Buildings and the FDNY on Tuesday asking that they immediately inspect the ad hoc detention facility on the 10th floor.
“This is what you would see in a movie or in a country that doesn’t have a real court system. It is almost kangaroo court-ish,” Williams said.
“It’s the obligation of the mayor, and the buildings commissioner and the fire commissioner to ensure that building safety and fire safety are maintained,” Lander said.
The two officials claim the 10th floor detention facility is in violation of the city’s safety codes.
The letter comes following recently released videos from the New York Immigration Coalition showing migrants being held in squalid conditions at the building.
ICE officials have been using the 10th floor for weeks to hold migrants they detain coming out of immigration court.
“To hear the judge repeatedly tell people what their rights are. When their next court date is going to be. Tell them they can try and get an attorney and have masked people grab them and bring them down a hallway, down a staircase is astonishing,” the public advocate said.
The Trump administration maintains the 10th floor of Federal Plaza is a processing center, not a detention facility.
City Hall, in a statement on behalf of the FDNY and DOB, said the mayor has now sent a letter to the Trump administration asking that they inspect the building.
“Upon learning of the reported conditions on the 10th floor, we reached out to our federal partners at the General Services Administation asking that they immediately conduct an inspection of the 10 Floor to ensure the facility is being used in compliance with the law,” a spokesperson said in a statement
Altus noted that the building is federal property and city agencies don’t have jurisdiction. The DOB can fine the building for violations but has no enforcement power.
Earlier Wednesday the mayor pledged to look into what is happening.
“We are going to coordinate with our local electeds and find out what’s happening there including our federal electeds. And I’m happy to see they are raising their voices at this time,” he said.
