Judge criticizes ICE for using ‘cherry-picked’ data to mask poor conditions at Manhattan detention center
Federal authorities provided “flawed and likely misleading” statistics to make conditions at a Manhattan detention facility appear better than they were, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
In an 84-page decision, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan expanded on a prior order requiring improvements at 26 Federal Plaza, rejecting the government’s claims that conditions were improving without court oversight. Kaplan, a Bill Clinton appointee, wrote that officials appeared to cherry-pick data to present the facility in the best possible light.
Detainees at 26 Federal Plaza, a makeshift jail on the 10th floor of the federal building, reported squalid and overcrowded conditions. In court filings, one 20-year-old woman said she was denied feminine hygiene products and forced to wear blood-soaked clothing during her period. Other detainees described malnutrition, extreme dehydration, and confinement in a 215-square-foot room holding up to 90 people, with no shower or clothing changes. Some reported guards taunting inmates, squirting water into their mouths, and eating in front of them.
Kaplan criticized ICE for attempting to downplay these issues, noting that officials had emptied the facility on Aug. 11 and then filed a report claiming only eight detainees were present. The government also cited fire marshal occupancy limits, which the judge said were irrelevant to the realities of 24-hour confinement without adequate hygiene.
The court found that detainees were often held far longer than intended for a short-term holding facility, and delays in confidential access to legal counsel had led to some being removed from the U.S. without their motions being considered. Kaplan ordered that all detainees be given confidential access to counsel within 24 hours of arrival.
The ruling grants class certification for all individuals detained for at least 12 hours at the facility and extends a preliminary injunction ensuring detainees receive adequate space, hygiene supplies, and access to legal counsel.
“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 of the American Civil Liberties Union, representing the plaintiffs.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson disputed the characterization of the facility, calling it a “processing center” rather than a detention center and asserting that all detainees receive proper meals, medical treatment, and opportunities to communicate with lawyers and family.
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