26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan (Getty)
A federal judge rebuked Immigration and Customs Enforcement over conditions at a New York City detention center, ordering the Trump administration to meet new standards for detainee housing, medical care, and access to attorneys.
U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan issued a permanent injunction covering ICE holding rooms at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan, ruling that conditions there in the summer of 2025 violated detainees’ constitutional rights.
“The conditions of confinement to which ICE subjected immigration detainees at 26 Fed during the summer of 2025 were inhumane and unconstitutional,” Kaplan wrote in a 127-page opinion.
Kaplan said ICE placed more detainees in holding rooms than they were designed to accommodate and kept some there well beyond their intended short-term use.
“By detaining far more persons in the hold rooms than ever was intended and for far longer than ever was intended, ICE objectively deprived detainees of sleep, sanitary living conditions, basic personal hygiene needs, sufficient food and water, and adequate medical care,” he wrote.
The rooms are intended to hold detained immigrants for “12 hours or less,” according to the opinion.
Kaplan also leveled unusually strong criticism at ICE over its response to previous court orders. He said officials had at times “intentionally concealed or recklessly disregarded the truth” and characterized the agency’s failure to follow court-ordered capacity limits as “persistent, egregious, and, at a minimum, reckless, if not willful.”
The judge also found detainees were “severely restricted” in their ability to communicate meaningfully with lawyers.
According to Kaplan, ICE employees or contractors sometimes remained close enough to hear detainees’ phone conversations. One detainee was left “fearful and powerless” and afraid to “speak freely,” the opinion said.
The Department of Homeland Security defended ICE and stressed that 26 Federal Plaza is a temporary holding location.
“Detainees are only at 26 Federal Plaza for a short period while they are being processed and awaiting transfer,” a DHS spokesperson told Axios. “Ensuring the safety, security, and well-being of individuals in ICE custody remains a top priority.”
“ICE is using a range of strategies, including transferring detainees to facilities with available capacity, expediting case processing where appropriate, and coordinating with federal, state, and local partners to support continued oversight and accountability,” the spokesperson added.
DHS said that “ICE also remains committed to providing necessary medical care, access to legal resources, and safe living conditions for all individuals in its custody.”
“Being in detention is a choice,” the spokesperson said, pointing to the CBP Home App, which the Trump administration has promoted for illegal aliens who leave the United States voluntarily.
Kaplan’s injunction requires at least 50 square feet of qualifying floor space per detainee and temperatures between 68 and 74 degrees. ICE must also provide three daily meals with bottled water, hygiene supplies, and clean bedding for people held overnight.
The order requires a licensed medical professional on-site at all times, basic medical screenings, and free, confidential and unmonitored telephone access to attorneys or prospective attorneys.
Kaplan said similar disputes have surfaced elsewhere in the immigration detention system.
“Fed 26 is not unique,” he wrote, citing “comparable litigation” involving other sites.
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