Elected New York officials arrested during anti-ICE protests

More than a dozen elected New York officials, including New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, were arrested on Thursday over an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protest around Manhattan's 26 Federal Plaza.

Lander and at least 10 Democratic state legislators were arrested and forced out of the 10th floor of the building after demanding to inspect holding rooms in the facility that illegal migrants have described as unsanitary, Politico reported. 

“There are federal laws and local laws being broken behind these doors,” Lander told the federal officers guarding the building. “Our neighbors are being illegally held and detained for longer than they are allowed to be, and we’re here to observe.”

A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson told the outlet that a total of 71 people were arrested inside and outside the building over the protests, and the building was also locked down over a bomb threat. 

Lander's arrest comes after he was arrested in June for obstruction while attempting to “accompany” some illegal migrants out of the same building. He was never charged in the June arrest. 

California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla was also arrested for disrupting DHS activities in June, after he allegedly disrupted a DHS press conference in Los Angeles. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested in May for protesting an ICE detention center in New Jersey.

“Another day, another activist politician pulling a stunt in an attempt to get their 15 minutes of fame while endangering DHS personnel and detainees,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “Here are the facts: Brad Lander showed up to 26 Federal Plaza unannounced with agitators and media and proceeded to obstruct law enforcement and cause a scene. He yelled inside the building that he was ‘not leaving’ until detainees were ‘released.’”

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.