26 Federal Plaza: The Funeral Home
Venezuelan asylum seeker Yonquenide Yajure was detained by ICE agents at 26 Federal Plaza immediately following his immigration hearing. Although his next court date was scheduled for 2029, agents proceeded with the arrest while he held his 3-year-old son.
Father Fabián offers support to Franyelis Parra inside a 26 Federal Plaza elevator, moments after ICE agents arrested her partner, Yonquenide Yajure.
Inside the dense, glistening corridors of 26 Federal Plaza, a sterile brightness documents the uncertainty of migrant families. This building, described by those who pass through as a “funeral home,” serves as a mass grave for yearnings, where human drama becomes forbidden for the lens once the threshold of the courtroom is crossed. Within this vacuum of witnesses, federal authority is exercised through a game of shadows where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents often proceed with arrests in the hallways, ignoring legal mandates.
To counter this machinery, Father Fabián, an Argentine priest with over two decades of service, has become a constant presence in these courts. Known as the “angel of the migrants,” he leads the “Jericho Walk” every Thursday, a spiritual act of resistance seeking to crack the walls of a system designed for fear. Working alongside him is Peter Melck Kuttel, a key member of the support team who provides essential encouragement and logistical help to families facing these judicial ambushes.
Pregnant and alone with her two young children, Franyelis stands overwhelmed on the sidewalk, facing the sudden fragmentation of her family in broad daylight.
The image captures the moment Father Fabián, acting as Viliker’s legal guardian, guides him through the judicial corridors to ensure he does not face the system in absolute solitude.
Together, they attempt to protect the most vulnerable, including “lost children” like Viliker Castillo, a 20-year-old who arrived alone in the city. Father Fabián acts as a legal guardian for over 230 young people like Viliker to prevent the legal emptiness from swallowing their futures.
Father Fabián leads a spiritual act of resistance known as the “Jericho Walk” outside 26 Federal Plaza.
The necessity of this presence is clear in the devastating human cost documented in these halls. A Venezuelan father, Yonquenide, was arrested by ICE agents while holding his three-year-old son, despite having a court appointment scheduled for 2029. In similar incidents, women like Mónica Moreta-Galarza have been violently assaulted by officers during the detention of her husband.
Franyelis Parra, her children, and Peter Melck Kuttel are seen outside 290 Broadway, following a meeting at Congressman Dan Goldman’s office.
With a face etched in raw anguish, Mónica Moreta-Galarza looks directly at the officer, begging him to take her instead of her partner during the arrest.
Mónica Moreta-Galarza lies on the hallway floor of 26 Federal Plaza after being slammed against the wall and thrown down by an ICE agent.
Father Fabián describes the assault against Mónica Moreta-Galarza to Congressman Dan Goldman, detailing how an ICE agent slammed her against the wall and threw her to the floor during the arrest of her partner.
ICE agents arrest William, an Ecuadorian father, in a hallway of 26 Federal Plaza immediately following his immigration hearing.
While these families face the reality of displacement, the mission led by Father Fabián and Peter is defined by an absolute refusal to allow this struggle to be experienced in solitude. As the cameras document these fractured lives, the "funeral home" continues its indifferent rhythm.
