Thousands of NYers Flood 26 Federal Plaza Demanding ICE Accountability, Rejecting Any Federal Troop Presence, and Calling on Electeds to Protect Immigrant Communities

Last week, 11 elected officials engaged in an act of civil disobedience on the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza, where ICE inhumanely has detained thousands of immigrants in deplorable conditions. Simultaneously, over 70 brave people were arrested for blocking ICE vans from leaving the building; they refused to let ICE transport people they’ve kidnapped from courts to inhumane detention centers.

Natalia Aristizabal, Deputy Director of Make the Road New York, said, “In broad daylight, ICE has kidnapped immigrant New Yorkers in horrific and violent coordinated events at 26 Federal Plaza and in the streets. We have witnessed this onslaught on immigrants, who are simply showing up to their court hearing, and end up being separated from their loved ones. New Yorkers are taking a stand against ICE. We are united and will resist against ICE or any attempt to invade our state with federal troops. Our message is clear: ICE out of New York, Hands off New York.”

“As the greatest immigrant city the world has ever known, New York must reject Donald Trump’s xenophobic mass deportation agenda,” said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. “Week after week, I’ve witnessed masked ICE agents rip New Yorkers away from their loved ones as they attend their immigration court hearings. Every New Yorker should be able to go to school, the hospital, or show up to court without fear of being abducted and torn apart from their family and community. New Yorkers won’t stand idly by, and neither should their leaders – the State must pass New York for All, and the City must pass the New York City Trust Act.”

“PSC members are here because we understand that the labor movement must be in the forefront of the resistance to authoritarianism. We oppose Trump’s cruel policies of mass deportation in the courtrooms, in the workplace, and in our communities where our neighbors are being kidnapped. Immigrant workers built NYC and helped to build NYC into the Union Town it is and must remain.” said Andrea Vásquez, Secretary of the Professional Staff Congress, the union of 30,000 faculty and staff at CUNY.

“Immigrant and working-class New Yorkers are being harmed by ICE kidnappings and Trump’s cuts to healthcare, but so far state Democratic leadership is failing to meet the moment. Governor Hochul must call Albany back to session to pass New York For All, and fully fund the services we rely on,” said Grace Mausser, Co-Chair, New York City Democratic Socialists of America.

“A democracy upholds the constitutional rights of our country and ensures due process for everyone who calls this country home. Yet, at 26 Federal Plaza and across every immigration court in the nation, families are being torn apart by ICE, in broad daylight, and disappearing into detention, while entire communities are being forced to live in fear. We’ve seen these same tactics devastate neighborhoods in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., where militarized raids and National Guard deployments have left families traumatized and communities destabilized. But let’s be clear: New Yorkers will not let that happen here. ICE has no place in our city. Together, we will resist ICE’s terror, protect our communities, and continue to make New York City a place where everyone can live with dignity, safety, and hope,” said Murad Awawdeh, President & CEO, New York Immigration Coalition.

“ICE thrives in the shadows. The only way to stop their raids and intimidation is to organize in every neighborhood—from churches and mosques, to schools, unions, and small businesses—so that wherever ICE goes, they meet a united community against ICE. Currently, NYC leads the country in ICE arrests in federal courthouses. They trap and deport our neighbors when they are simply abiding by the rules to show up for their hearings. We demand ICE out of the courts—no arrests in or around our courthouses,” said Jorge Torres, National Organizing Director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. 

The labor unions and community organizations that participate in the march included:
1199 SEIU
50501
AFGE Local 3911
Alliance of Legal Advocates and Attorneys – UAW Local 2325
Artists For a Free World
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action Riverdale
Bronx Defenders, The
Citizen Action of New York
Climate Defenders
Communications Workers of America, District 1
Extinction Rebellion NYC
Federal Unionists Network NYC
If Not Now – NYC
ICE Out of NY Campaign
Immigrant Defense Project
Indivisible Brooklyn
Invest in Our New York
Jackson Heights Indivisible
Jews For Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ)
Justice Committee
Laborers Local 1010
Make the Road New York
Met Council on Housing
National Day Laborer Organizing Network
New York City Democratic Socialists of America
New York Civil Liberties Union
New York Immigration Coalition
New York Jewish Agenda
New York Working Families Party
Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition
Professional Staff Congress/CUNY
Showing Up for Racial Justice NYC
Solidarity Organizing Initiative
The People’s Forum
The Circle Keepers
The Bronx Defenders
UAW Region 9A

Published: September 26, 2025