Government Officials Arrested at 26 Federal Plaza
It was a standoff defined by two stark realities on the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza. On one side: eleven of New York's elected officials, including City Comptroller Brad Lander, State Senators Julia Salazar, Gustavo Rivera, and Jabari Brisport, along with Assembly Members Jessica González-Rojas, Emily Gallagher, Marcela Mitaynes, Claire Valdez, Tony Simone, and Steven Raga, demanding transparency. On the other: the reinforced, taped-shut doors of the federal immigration complex, a system built on secrecy.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander addresses the press in the 10th-floor hallway, directly beside a DHS officer. His formal suit and the sterile environment contrast with the unfolding resistance, as he demands transparency on the facility's conditions.
Assembly Member Emily Gallagher maintains a resolute expression alongside State Senator Gustavo Rivera as cameras capture the scene. Their presence on the 10th floor highlights the tension between city officials and the DHS security forces guarding the restricted area.
Their demand was singular: access. They arrived at the federal building with a mission to investigate the facility where advocates say ICE is detaining migrants in inhumane conditions. They sought to use their democratic mandates to bear witness.
Assembly Members Jessica González-Rojas and Emily Gallagher stand before the elevators at 26 Federal Plaza. Their presence at the threshold of the 10th floor signals the start of the delegation's attempt to confront federal authorities regarding detention conditions.
State Senator Gustavo Rivera peers through a narrow window in the reinforced door of the 10th-floor facility. A "DO NOT ENTER" sign and the presence of a security officer underscore the physical and bureaucratic barriers preventing the officials from accessing the detention area.
The strategy was direct and peaceful. The officials first gathered, their presence a quiet, formal challenge to the bureaucratic fortress. They knocked on the doors, a formal request for transparency. Security officers watched with arms crossed, but the response from federal authorities was swift and silent obstruction, the doors were not only shut but conspicuously sealed with tape, a clear symbol of the barrier between public accountability and the federal government's immigration complex.
State Senator Jabari Brisport and Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas stand together in the crowded 10th-floor hallway. Their shared, unwavering gaze captures the transition from a formal inquiry to the decisive moment before the group actively took the floor in protest after their requests for entry were ignored.
City Comptroller Brad Lander and a group of advocates stand in the cramped 10th-floor hallway. Their collective presence serves as a final, silent demand for transparency before the sterile corridor was transformed into a space of active sit-in protest.
Blocked from entering, the officials and advocates refused to retreat or disperse. They instead made a collective decision to occupy the sterile hallway itself. They sat on the cold floor of the corridor, transforming the non-descript space into a site of resistance and human testimony.
A DHS officer stands watch in the sterile, tiled hallway of 26 Federal Plaza. His presence at the center of the corridor serves as a physical barrier, maintaining the federal blockade against the delegation of local officials seeking entry to the 10th-floor facility.
Members of the delegation and advocates sit on the floor of the 10th-floor hallway, surrounding a yellow banner that reads "NYers AGAINST ICE." This sit-in marked the moment the officials shifted their strategy to active civil disobedience after being denied entry to the facility.
This was no silent vigil. The hallway occupation turned the bureaucratic space into a public forum. One by one, the officials and their advocates spoke about their roots, their families, and their neighbors who have been detained and separated. The testimonies filled the narrow hallway, turning a place of sterile compliance into a powerful testament to the human cost of detention policies.
Assembly Member Emily Gallagher and Assembly Member Tony Simone sit on the floor during the occupation of the 10th-floor hallway. Their silent protest followed hours of being denied access to the federal facility, as they joined other officials in a direct demand for transparency.
State Senator Jabari Brisport speaks out during the sit-in on the 10th floor. Behind him, Assembly Member Marcela Mitaynes and City Comptroller Brad Lander remain seated on the floor, joining the collective action to protest the lack of transparency and access to the federal facility.
But the hallway occupation had a predictable conclusion. Federal Protective Service officers eventually moved in. Warnings were given, and the official action began. The tone shifted from testimony to detainment.
State Senator Gustavo Rivera, Assembly Member Marcela Mitaynes, City Comptroller Brad Lander, and Assembly Member Julia Salazar remain seated on the floor of the 10th-floor hallway. Surrounded by members of the press, the officials continued their sit-in after federal authorities at 26 Federal Plaza refused to grant them access to the facility.
A private security officer from Paragon Systems stands with arms crossed, guarding the grey double doors of the facility. Signs posted on the entrance, including one stating "DO NOT ENTER - AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY," define the physical and bureaucratic barrier that triggered the officials’ sit-in protest.
The resistance ended with the inevitable move to process the sit-in. Federal officers, including Lieutenant Dominguez, stood watch as their colleagues began the process of making arrests. White plastic zip-ties were applied.
The physical barrier is captured in detail: a narrow, reinforced window in the door, covered with a protective mesh and taped-up documents that obscure the view of the facility's interior. To the right, a prominent sign reinforces the restriction, stating "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY" in both English and Spanish.
DHS Police officers move through the 10th-floor hallway as the sit-in concludes. An officer on the left carries a bundle of white plastic zip-ties, prepared for the arrests of the officials and advocates on the floor. In the foreground, Assembly Member Emily Gallagher remains seated as the law enforcement presence intensifies.
The moment of detainment: A DHS officer secures the hands of an official in a dark suit with white plastic zip-ties. The focus on the bound hands underscores the shift from dialogue to police action as the sit-in at 26 Federal Plaza is cleared.
The final moments documented the moment New York’s elected leadership chose to put their bodies between their constituents and the system that detains them yards away. Comptroller Lander, hands bound by the zip-ties, was arrested and led away. Senator Salazar, Senator Brisport, and the other officials were all arrested one by one, bound and escorted from the 10th floor they were never allowed to see, their hallway resistance concluded but their testimony delivered.
A DHS officer escorts arrested officials toward the elevators. The officer’s "POLICE HOMELAND SECURITY" patch is prominently displayed as the sterile hallway is cleared. To the right, an official stands with hands secured behind her back by white plastic zip-ties, waiting to be removed from the 10th floor.
Assembly Member Marcela Mitaynes shouts a final message as she is escorted toward the elevator by DHS officers. Behind her, State Senator Gustavo Rivera stands with his hands secured by zip-ties, waiting to be removed from the floor. The scene marks the final stage of the arrests following the delegation's refusal to leave the federal building.
State Senator Jabari Brisport is led away by a DHS officer. His hands are secured behind his back as he is escorted from the 10th floor, following the group’s refusal to leave the corridor. The arrest was part of a larger action involving eleven elected officials protesting for transparency at the federal site.
