Rep. Adriano Espaillat introduces legislation to protect immigrants from arrests at court hearings

Rep. Adriano Espaillat — who serves Marble Hill, Kingsbridge and Kingsbridge Heights — joined Reps. Dan Goldman and Nydia Velázquez to introduce the Immigration Due Process Protection Act, legislation that would prohibit U.S. Department of Homeland Security, DHS, officers from arresting immigrants while they attend a mandated court hearing. 

The lawmakers gathered outside of 26 Federal Plaza on Dec. 8, a government building criticized by attorneys and advocacy groups for detaining immigrants in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions. It also holds immigration courts and a floor where people go for regular Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, check-ins. 

Under President Donald Trump's administration, over 600,000 immigrants have been deported since January, according to the DHS. 

 Espaillat, Goldman and Velázquez tried to access the court and the check-in floor as part of their congressional oversight duties, but were denied. 

“This is an administrative building,” Espaillat said. “This should not be a detention center. But what has happened here is what we predicted from the very beginning [under] the Trump dictatorship.”

Espaillat cited masked ICE agents who “roam the streets and slam people to the ground." Today, he added, agents told the officials ICE “has protocol.” 

“Protocol is not above the law,” Espaillat said. “These are all characteristics of a dictatorship — when there is a blatant and abrasive disregard of the law … We felt then, as we feel now, that this aggressive behavior was going to drive immigrants underground.”

According to the Data Deportation Project, ICE has arrested 3,212 people in New York City through mid-October, and over half of those people have been deported. But, the number of overnight detentions and average time spent at 26 Federal Plaza has decreased since the summer. 

The new bill, Goldman said, would implement guardrails to protect immigrants who are lawfully pursuing citizenship, and curb an administration that is “failing to uphold the law” and “abusing its power.” 

Protections apply to individuals that are at court for scheduled hearings, unless agents have a judicial warrant, and those with an active immigration case that has not resulted in a final order of removal. 

He added that fewer immigrants are showing up to their court appearances because they fear being separated from their loved ones or being held in subpar conditions, often resulting in an automatic order of removal. 

“These are nonviolent, noncriminal people, often escaping terrible conditions in their country and seeking refuge here,” Goldman said. “Now they are being yanked away from their families, detained and deported, even though they have a lawful application.” 

The congressman noted efforts to strengthen due-process protections have stalled in Washington, in part because of a lack of support from Republicans. 

Goldman said the New York delegation is going to be present at 26 Federal Plaza more often, and Espaillat pledged to return to the site once a week to monitor the situation. 

“[Trump] wants a crisis between law enforcement and the population,” Espaillat said. “So we’re here to protect the most vulnerable, and that’s the immigrants that should be allowed to access this building to resolve their status.”