ICE operates holding cells inside 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan. A class-action lawsuit exposed dire conditions and a previously undisclosed detention floor. Trial set for May 26, 2026.

Conditions and Legal Action

• People detained for days and weeks without showers, medication, or change of clothes
• Sleeping on the floor with minimal food and outside contact
• Make the Road New York filed class action (August 2025) on behalf of all current and future detainees
• Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered immediate improvements: meals, sanitary products, clean bed mats, confidential attorney calls

Secret 9th Floor

• In February 2026, Trump administration attorneys admitted in court that ICE had been detaining migrants on a separate, previously undisclosed 9th floor where they claimed the judge’s order did not apply
• Four additional holding rooms on 9th floor never publicly acknowledged by ICE
• Rep. Dan Goldman visited the facility in February 2026

Trial (held May 27, 2026)

• May 27, 2026: Bench trial held before Judge Lewis Kaplan (Barco-Mercado v. Noem)
• Plaintiffs allege First Amendment violations (no attorney access) and Fifth Amendment violations (punitive conditions without due process)
• Trial evidence: cells held 7-8x stated capacity in summer 2025, regularly over 100 people nightly; 82% of detainees held over 12 hours (designed for under 12); some held 20-30 days. Internal ICE staff called conditions “insane” and were “concerned about the safety of everyone there”
• Kaplan raised whether ICE should be permitted to use the holding cells at all — a possible shutdown remedy. No final ruling as of May 28, 2026; Kaplan may request more evidence
• Status check (June 2, 2026): still no ruling. Post-trial coverage confirms Kaplan said he would need “at least a few weeks” to decide and is also weighing a last-minute request to expand the class to all detainees held longer than 12 hours. He flagged that the government violated his temporary order for months (e.g., no confidential attorney-consultation space until February 2026). A decision — potentially including the shutdown remedy — remains pending.

Courthouse Arrest Ban (May 19, 2026)

• Judge P. Kevin Castel barred ICE from arresting most immigrants inside the three Manhattan immigration courts (26 Federal Plaza, 290 Broadway, 201 Varick), reversing his own 2025 order after DOJ admitted ICE lacked authority for courthouse enforcement
• Arrests now permitted only for national-security/public-safety threats, imminent risk of violence, or imminent risk of evidence destruction in a criminal case

Sources

• THE CITY: ICE to face trial over conditions (Mar 2026)
• THE CITY: ICE moved detainees to secret floor (Feb 2026)
• THE CITY: Judge slams overcrowding (Sep 2025)
• ACLU: Court order on abusive conditions
• Courthouse News: Judge slams ICE for stalling
• NYIC: Video of inhumane conditions (Jul 2025)
• THE CITY: Judge raises shutting down 26 Federal Plaza (May 27, 2026)
• THE CITY: Judge blocks ICE arrests inside NYC immigration courthouses (May 19, 2026)
• Gothamist: Trial reveals ICE knew about ‘insane’ crowding (May 2026)