ICE protests planned in NYC as Trump administration challenges sanctuary laws
Protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in New York City are being planned following the release of video showing conditions inside the facility at Manhattan's federal immigration building.
Organizers said they plan to protest twice on Monday, first at noon outside ICE detention centers, immigration courts and federal buildings, like Federal Plaza, before another round of protests in the evening.
Last week, the New York Immigration Coalition provided video showing what looks like the inside of an ICE processing center at 26 Federal Plaza. Members of Congress have been trying to access the area for weeks after hearing complaints alleging detained immigrants have been held there for days in deplorable conditions.
ICE has maintained that the facility is not a detention center and is only used for temporary processing.
Organizers of the protests, which are planned in New York and other major U.S. cities, stressed they do not want any violence during the demonstrations.
Trump administration targets NYC sanctuary laws
Monday's rallies are also being planned as Mayor Eric Adams seeks changes to the city's sanctuary laws amid a Justice Department lawsuit filed last week aiming to strike them down.
Adams said he supports the sanctuary laws protecting undocumented immigrants, but he believes modifications are needed to go after people who commit crimes.
The mayor is facing stiff resistance from the City Council though, as members seek to stop him from expanding the role of federal immigration agents in the city.
Federal officials have been particularly upset that the City Council went to court to stop an executive order issued by Adams to allow ICE agents to work on Rikers Island, where they could identify undocumented immigrants who may be in the country illegally and have committed crimes.
