Peter Melck Kuttel, 30, has had a front row seat to many of the most violent and heartbreaking incidents that have taken place since the ICE takeover of Lower Manhattan’s 26 Federal Plaza, from watching on helplessly as an immigrant mother was shoved to the ground to holding the head of an injured photojournalist as medics rushed to his aid.
Currently Kuttel volunteers as a detention coordinator for Father Fabian Arias’ Saint Peter’s Church, where, in his role, he makes a daily pilgrimage to the epicenter of ICE operations in the Big Apple in an ongoing endeavor to aid those detained by masked federal agents. For almost a year he has not drawn a single paycheck, dedicating all of his time and energy to the strangers in his midst. Although, it has not always been like this.
Kuttel previously did well for himself working as a defense contractor in Colorado in the space industry. A dream job for many, for him it was uninspiring.
“There were definitely times when I loved it. When you put a rocket, a payload in orbit, and watch an entire launch with your co-workers — it’s an exhilarating feeling. There’s nothing like it, it’s an incredible time. But you know, life drags on and the work slows down, and it becomes more regimented,” Kuttel told amNewYork. “One day, I just decided that enough was enough.”
Peter Melck Kuttel leaves his Upper East Side home early in order to get to 26 Federal Plaza by 8 a.m.Photo by Dean Moses 
Peter Melck Kuttel makes his way through Lower Manhattan to reach 26 Federal Plaza.Photo by Dean Moses
Feeling formulaic, Kuttel quit his job and moved to New York, where he would unknowingly be set on a path to 26 Federal Plaza. In June, Kuttel was working on a new start-up company and was attempting to contact a member of the State Department, but could not reach them. So, he made his way to 26 Federal Plaza to try and speak to someone in person when he stepped off on the wrong floor — the 12th floor. Here he came face-to-face with masked and armed ICE agents for the first time.
Kuttel had read about the ICE detentions and had recently seen the news that then New York City Comptroller and Mayoral Candidate Brad Lander had been arrested by the feds while escorting immigrants from their court appointments. He stayed and watched, then returned in the coming days until August, when he began making the trip a daily routine out of a pure desire to make a difference.
“To see it in front of you really made my blood boil. And I was naive in thinking that there were balances being had, be it immigration, be it the corporate world, be it business, be it military, be it in any agency. It was just all crumbling down, and to see such brutality in front of you, it finally snapped. I need to just do something,” Kuttel shared. “You can only watch so much through the news before wondering: What can I do more of?”
Peter Melck Kuttel enters 26 Federal Plaza.Photo by Dean Moses 
Kuttel with congress members as they came face-to-face with masked Feds who lined the halls, waiting for their targets. Goldman himself demanded to see the badge of one agent who unzipped his sweatshirt to reveal a golden emblem.Photo by Dean Moses
And so Kuttel began volunteering, offering immigrants legal services before they were dragged through the windowless halls of the 12th and 14th floors, and worked to gather as much information about those who were taken so he could aid in hopefully securing their release. Over the course of weeks and months, the fluorescent corridors became his office space, and weeping family members became his clients. During this time, he became embroiled in headline after headline.
On Sept. 30, 2025, several ICE agents became infuriated with members of the press, grabbing and throwing several journalists, including an amNewYork reporter. Vural Elibol, a photographer for the Anadolu Agency was left injured, leaving Kuttel to hold his head until medical staff arrived.
“When the journalist from Turkey was thrown to the ground, and you’re kind of sitting there holding his head because he’s complaining about sharp pains all through his back. When you’re looking back, you still don’t believe that that happened; it still hasn’t settled. For some of the most violent detentions we’ve seen on the floor, you really just don’t believe it happened in front of you,” Kuttel said. “This is what is supposed to happen in the movies, on the news.”
Kuttel tends to injured journalist L. Vural Elibol after an ICE agent apparently shoved him hard to the floor at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan on Sept. 30, 2025.Photo by Dean Moses 
Kuttel aids a woman with her legal paperwork inside Dan Goldman’s office.Photo by Dean Moses
Still, despite all of the hardships and heartbreak, and even what he states are ICE agents threatening him, muttering “We will get you,” Kuttel says it is all worth it when he is able to aid in the release of a person who does not have a criminal record and was forcibly taken against their will. For him, there is a moment that stands out above all.
Kuttel told amNewYork that he was overcome with emotion when a young man he had been working with at Saint Peter’s Church and at several legal clinics was detained by federal agents. He was taken away early one morning, right in front of Kuttel.
“I remember essentially just saying goodbye as he’s being hauled away. I mean, quite literally, like, lifted away by two large agents,” Kuttel recalled.
For well over a week, Kuttel worked with others to secure his release by filing legal paperwork until he was finally set to be released from Delany Hall in New Jersey.
“I went down to the detention center to pick him up, working with our attorneys to figure out the times when he was supposed to be released. And I waited out there for a couple hours,” Kuttel said. “Finally they relented and I just remember watching him come out, very cold, the wind HSI blowing and he finally sees me and we hugged and he’s just crying into my shoulders. I’m still remembering that, and that really goes through my mind a lot.”
As time has gone by, Kuttel says he is seeing more cases in which people detained have been released because lawyers and others have gained a better grasp of the government’s approach to immigration detention. Kuttel pledges to continue his volunteer efforts until the day comes when he no longer has to.
“The administration has not only gone too far, they have blown far past the line. The president won his election on the rhetoric that he was going to go after the worst of the worst, the most violent criminals, the gang leaders and the terrorists and everything, but he’s done none of that. He’s only gone after some of the most innocent and most vulnerable people that exist in our society,” Kuttel said. “You are not going after the worst of the worst, and that’s why we’re getting so many people released.”
Peter Melck Kuttel passes by ICE agents inside 26 federal Plaza.Photo by Dean Moses