District Court Grants Order Prohibiting ICE from Detaining Immigrants in Abusive Conditions at 26 Federal Plaza

Affiliate: Ƶ of New York
September 17, 2025 12:26 pm

Media Contact
125 Broad Street
18th Floor
New York, NY 10004
United States

NEW YORK – A U.S. District Court granted a preliminary injunction today that would improve conditions for people detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at 26 Federal Plaza. Notably, the order grants class certification and prohibits ICE from detaining people in spaces with less than 50 square feet per person. The order also requires ICE to improve access to hygiene, provide sleeping mats and access to adequate soap and other hygiene products, and ensure people detained can make free, unmonitored, and confidential calls to their lawyers within 24 hours of being detained.

In August, the court granted a temporary restraining order prohibiting ICE from holding people in abusive conditions at 26 Federal Plaza after the Ƶ, New York Civil Liberties Union, Make the Road New York, and Wang Hecker LLP a class action lawsuit.

The temporary holding facility has come under fire in recent months, after ICE held more than 100 people, sometimes for weeks, in inhumane and unsanitary conditions without beds, showers, or adequate medical support. The government also banned in-person legal visitation, any confidential phone or video communication, and confidential exchange of written documents, in violation of people’s First and Fifth Amendment rights.

Quotes from co-counsel are as follows:

“Today’s ruling is an important win for immigrants’ rights and affirms what we’ve known all along: ICE’s conduct at 26 Federal Plaza is inhumane, illegal and a direct violation of the Constitution,” said Eunice Cho, senior counsel with the Ƶ’s National Prison Project. “No person should be denied medical care, access to a lawyer, or basic dignity when they are held in government custody – and we’ll continue to fight to hold ICE accountable.”

“The cruel policy of subjecting individuals to degrading treatment and inhumane conditions is deeply disturbing. And now, the court has made it abundantly clear that it is also illegal,” said Harold Solis, Co-Legal Director of Make the Road New York. “As always, we’ll remain vigilant to ensure the government complies with today’s decision.”

“Today’s order rightly affirms that ICE cannot hold people in the dehumanizing, abusive conditions at 26 Federal Plaza,” said Bobby Hodgson, Assistant Legal Director at the New York Civil Liberties Union. “We’ll continue to fight to hold the Trump administration accountable and end ICE’s unconstitutional detention practices at 26 Federal Plaza for good.”

“The Court today sent a clear and much-needed message: ICE cannot flagrantly disregard the constitutional rights and basic human needs of the immigrants it detains at 26 Federal Plaza,” said Heather Gregorio of Wang Hecker LLP. “This order is an important step in the ongoing fight to hold the government accountable.”

The court order is available here: /documents/barco-mercado-v-noem-preliminary-injunction-order

The full opinion is available here: /documents/barco-mercado-v-noem-opinion

Learn More Ƶ the Issues in This Press Release