Members of New York’s African immigrant population say they are living under fear and heartache as they fall into the crosshairs of ICE.
A young woman broke down in tears outside of 26 Federal Plaza on Wednesday as she recounted the moment her mother was detained at an ICE checkpoint amid what advocates charge is a federal attack on the African community.
According to immigrants who are the subjects of the Trump Administration’s latest rollout of ICE enforcement, and advocacy groups who are working to defend them, federal immigration agents have stepped up their detainment of those who hail from across West Africa.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams deemed the crackdown racist.
“They told everybody about the worst of the worst; they told everybody it was just about legal versus illegal. They are now doing everything they can to change people’s legal status to not being here legally,” Williams said. “President Trump and his MAGA leaders seem to want to remove all Black and Brown people from this nation, and today he’s targeting Africans, particularly from West Africa.”
This comes as the Supreme Court said it is allowing the United States to deport detainees to Africa and what they described as “third-world countries,” even if the person they are deporting does not hail from those nations.
And while the uptick in federal activity has been felt on the streets across the five boroughs, arrests are still being made inside New York’s immigration court, according to those with knowledge of the situation.
What’s ICE doing with immigrants on the third floor of 26 Federal Plaza?
Legal counselors representing immigrants told amNewYork that respondents are still attending their legally mandated court hearings on the 12th and 14th floors. However, some immigrants who come to 26 Federal Plaza to answer court mandates for appearances are nonetheless sent to the facility’s third floor, where they are detained out of sight of any observers.
The third floor of 26 Federal Plaza is made up of offices belonging to several different agencies and rooms that have been transformed into makeshift courtrooms. What specifically happens on the floor, however, is not always known to those representing immigrants.
Williams himself attempted to gain access to the floor and was met with immediate resistance by the onsite security staff. They prevented him from walking through hallways, even though it is considered public space.
After a standoff for several minutes, a supervisor allowed Williams to inspect the hallways, provided he did not enter agency space.
“We actually made it to the third floor as well, which people haven’t been able to get access to. So, at first they said no, and then they allowed us in. We’re not sure why, but the cases that were being heard normally on the third floor were changed to another floor, but we were able to explore and see what’s there,” Williams said.
Meanwhile, the 12th floor saw an overflow of immigrants in what has become known as mega master hearings, with 100 or more unrepresented people together to speed up deportation cases. Families could be observed packed together in a room that did not have a physical judge present; instead, he appeared on a TV screen from Florida.
Many of those who attended ICE check-in on the first floor and the hearings on Sept. 30 were people of color with ties to Africa.
“There are too many people in there,” a security guard scoffed as he pushed his way through the huddled mass.
For Amadou Ly, a Senegal native who has faced deportation himself, the conditions at Federal Plaza and treatment of immigrants by the Trump White House are cruel — and that seems to be the point.
“We’re dealing with massive abuse, racism coming from this administration, unfair treatments, not even the most decent treatment of human beings. What we are seeing in this administration is pure cruelty,” Amadou Ly said, a Senegal native who has faced deportation himself. “What we are seeing in this administration is pure cruelty.”
The emotional impact of detentions at Federal Plaza was again on full display outside the facility Wednesday.
Tears for detained and deported mother
A young woman who only identified herself only as Madeline wept profusely as she shared that her mother, who was born in Gambia, was detained at a check-in on Sept. 22 after being in the country for more than two decades. Tears fell down her cheeks as she recalled arriving at the courthouse with her mother at just before 6 a.m. that day, then waited for hours.
“At around 12:30 she called me and told me that she would be staying in ICE detention, and that they will be sending her to Ghana. I never imagined to get back on the 5 train without my mother,” Madeline said. “During that time, she barely slept, she barely ate.”
As Madeline recounted her traumatic experience, her father also broke down and bawled uncontrollably — holding his face in his hands. Nearby, several African women — who also had been the subjects of ICE detention — welled up with tears as they looked on.
“She would describe that she would be shackled at her hands and her feet, like she was a criminal, and my mom’s been here for 23 years. She’s never done a single terrible, bad thing, and she has to be treated like she was a criminal,” Madeline added. “We’re gonna do everything we can to bring her back home with us.”
