ICE Arrests at Manhattan Immigration Courts Defy Federal Court Orders

On Thursday, ICE agents detained an Ecuadorian man at 26 Federal Plaza and a Dominican man at 290 Broadway in Lower Manhattan; a Guatemalan man was detained at 290 Broadway on Monday. All three were moved to detention facilities: Dominican to Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey; Ecuadorian to the D. Ray James ICE Processing Center in Folkston, Georgia; Guatemalan to the Orange County Detention Facility in upstate New York.

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Judge Kevin Castel’s May 18 ruling reinstated a 2021 policy limiting courthouse arrests to narrow cases—national-security or public-safety threats, or direct pursuit. A June 23 nationwide order from a California federal court applied same limits nationwide. The arrests involve ICE; Make the Road New York, a nonprofit representing the detainees; New York Immigration Coalition led by Murad Awawdeh; Representative Dan Goldman (D-NY); and attorney Benjamin Remy of New York Legal Assistance Group.

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ICE’s spokesperson denied violating the order, citing a trespassing conviction for the Dominican man and a 2025 disorderly-conduct conviction for the Ecuadorian man, but gave no explanation of how the arrests meet narrow exceptions. Representative Dan Goldman said ICE “continues to flagrantly violate the law” by arresting individuals attending mandatory hearings. Murad Awawdeh called the agency’s conduct “lawless behavior” despite judicial directives.

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Make the Road New York filed habeas corpus petitions demanding release, arguing the arrests breach due-process rights. Benjamin Remy called the situation an “impossible bind” for immigrants, noted a “significant uptick in detentions,” and said ICE’s compliance is “flexible and adaptive” to the truth. He warned the arrests “discourage the legal process” and undermine constitutional due-process guarantees.

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ICE asserts compliance but provides no detail on how the arrests satisfy the limited exceptions. The agency also withheld the detainees’ names, limiting public scrutiny. No explicit justification for the Guatemalan arrest was offered, leaving a gap in the official narrative.

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• “ICE continues to flagrantly violate the law by arresting immigrants who are attending their mandatory court hearings, despite a court order mandating an end to courthouse arrests,” — Dan Goldman, Representative, New York

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• “We’re supposedly a nation under the rule of law, and our judicial branch has said that this agency must stop engaging in this lawless behavior, and they continue to do so.” — Murad Awawdeh, Head, New York Immigration Coalition

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• “For whatever reason, that order is essentially being disregarded, and we’ve seen a pretty significant uptick in detentions,” — Benjamin Remy, Senior Coordinating Attorney, New York Legal Assistance Group

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• “These arrests are discouraging the legal process. It’s discouraging people’s fundamental constitutional right to due process and to be able to have their day in court.” — Benjamin Remy

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Make the Road New York and other advocates have filed habeas corpus petitions seeking release, while Rep. Goldman’s office pursues congressional oversight. ICE’s compliance remains under judicial review, and any further courthouse arrests could trigger additional legal challenges.

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