By Vanguard Staff
NEW YORK – Immigrants’ rights advocates have filed a sweeping class action lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging inhumane detention conditions and a blanket denial of access to legal counsel at a federal immigration holding facility located inside 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, paints a stark picture of more than 100 immigrants confined for days or even weeks in cramped, unsanitary cells without beds, showers, adequate medical care, or any confidential means of communicating with their attorneys. The complaint alleges that the facility, operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), was never intended for prolonged stays and was designed only to hold people for a few hours while they were processed for release or transfer.
The lawsuit comes after weeks of media coverage and congressional inquiries into conditions at 26 Federal Plaza, which, according to the plaintiffs, has become a flashpoint in the Trump administration’s ramped-up immigration enforcement efforts. Those arrested have included individuals appearing for immigration court hearings, attending routine ICE check-ins, or swept up in raids at homes, workplaces, and community spaces.
Inside the holding rooms, according to the complaint, detainees are packed into cells holding between 70 and 90 people in roughly 215 square feet. They sleep on concrete floors next to open toilets, endure freezing or sweltering temperatures, and receive only two small meals a day. Many report significant weight loss, untreated medical conditions, and denial of prescribed medications.
“ICE’s aggressive enforcement and detention policies endangers immigrant communities nationwide, including at 26 Federal Plaza,” said Eunice Cho, senior counsel at the ACLU’s National Prison Project. “ICE is denying people their Constitutional rights to due process and legal representation to further its dehumanizing campaign against our immigrant neighbors and loved ones, many of whom were arrested at immigration court hearings or routine immigration check-ins.”
The complaint also details severe hygiene deprivations. Detainees are allegedly denied soap, toothbrushes, menstrual products, and any opportunity to bathe or change clothes, even during detentions lasting more than a week. One woman was reportedly forced to remain in blood-soaked clothing for the duration of her detention after being given no menstrual supplies beyond two pads shared among several women.
The plaintiffs — represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the New York Civil Liberties Union, Make the Road New York, and Wang Hecker LLP — seek a court order requiring ICE to improve food, hygiene, medical care, and sleeping conditions, and to immediately restore confidential attorney access.
“ICE’s detention of individuals at 26 Federal Plaza is deeply disturbing, well-documented, and unlawful,” said Harold Solis, co-legal director of Make the Road New York. “People are being deprived of their basic rights, facing medical neglect, and they lack access to adequate food and hygiene. This cruel detention policy is immoral and inhumane. Our north star here is simple: this must stop.”
The lawsuit claims ICE has implemented a blanket ban on in-person legal visits, confidential phone or video calls, and private exchange of legal documents. Attorneys report being turned away at the facility and told their clients were “in transit” and could not be reached, sometimes for days. The complaint also notes that ICE’s detainee locator system is often inaccurate for those held at 26 Federal Plaza, further obstructing legal representation.
“26 Federal Plaza is an inhumane disaster that has no place in our immigration system,” said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the NYCLU. “People trapped inside report spoiled food, extreme overcrowding, inadequate medical care, and no access to legal counsel. ICE has even barred people from visiting their loved ones locked inside. No one should endure such abuse — let alone immigrants who haven’t been charged with any crimes. These cruel, unlawful practices violate immigrants’ rights to due process and basic human dignity — and ICE must be held accountable.”
Beyond unsanitary and overcrowded conditions, the lawsuit alleges incidents of physical abuse by ICE officers. According to the complaint, one man was beaten, pinned to the floor with officers’ feet on his neck and head, and held down with his arms behind his back. In another case, officers pushed a man’s sister to the ground during his arrest and mocked him for crying.
Members of Congress have made multiple requests to tour the facility, but ICE has refused them access, despite federal laws requiring that members of Congress be allowed to visit detention facilities without advance notice.
The lead plaintiff, Sergio Alberto Barco Mercado, was arrested August 8 after appearing for a scheduled court hearing. His attorney, Andres Santamaria Cortes, said he attempted to see his client immediately after the arrest but was denied entry and told that visitation was prohibited for individuals held at 26 Federal Plaza. Phone calls to numbers listed on ICE’s public website also failed to secure contact.
The plaintiffs allege the conditions and attorney-access restrictions violate both the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause and the First Amendment’s guarantees of the right to retain and communicate with counsel. They are seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to end what they describe as “significant, ongoing, and irreparable harm” to detainees.
According to the complaint, ICE has publicly denied the allegations. DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin was quoted in July as saying, “Any claim that there is overcrowding or subprime conditions [at 26 Fed] is categorically false. All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers.”
The case, Barco-Mercado v. Noem, names DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, Acting Executive Associate Director Marcos Charles, and Acting New York Field Office Director LaDeon Francis as defendants.
