People held in overcrowded conditions at 26 Federal Plaza
Stories describe people detained by ICE at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan held for days to weeks in overcrowded rooms, sleeping on concrete or floors without beds, with little food, no showers, and limited access to medication or hygiene products. Cases include asylum seekers, students, and workers, some released after judicial orders. Reports concentrated around June 2025, becoming recurring that same month, peaking in July 2025, with occasional reports continuing since, now a smaller share of recent documented cases.
Mostly one period: the stories cluster around Jun 2025, a single event or operation, with occasional reports since.
Share of each month's well-documented stories, Jan 2025 to Oct 2026. Volume is not shown: coverage grew over the record, shares did not have to.
10 stories in 1 state. What accompanies this practice →
“No one should have to go through what I went through, or what thousands of other people who have been arrested and detained in this building have gone through.”
New York
Detainees kept on floors without beds or lawyers at NYC ICE facilityDetainees including Sergio Alberto Barco Mercado described sleeping on floors without beds and going without hygiene products at a Manhattan ICE facility. A judge ordered conditions fixed after finding prior orders willfully violated.New York, NY · Sep 24, 2026 · CBS News, ABC News, Bloomberg Law News +1
Nuvia M.: Woman detained at ICE check-in, denied diabetes medicine in overcrowded Manhattan facilityNuvia Martinez, who has diabetes, was detained at a routine ICE check-in in Manhattan and denied her medication for days in an overcrowded facility with no beds, showers, or enough food.“I was just a body that they crammed into a room, almost as if to be forgotten.” — Nuvia Ventura MartinezNew York, NY · Jun 1, 2026 · The Independent, Washington Post, The City Reporter +3
Hugo A.O.: Shelter Island truck driver, father of newborn, held 23 days by ICEHugo Leonel Ardon Osorio, a Guatemalan truck driver on Shelter Island for over 20 years, was detained while commuting to work and held 23 days. He returned to his family and job in March.“As the primary breadwinner of the home, his wife and their newborn baby have been left not only in terror, not knowing where he has been taken, but also the financial insecurity to buy groceries and pay their rent.” — Anita Boyer, fundraiser organizerGreenport, NY · Mar 1, 2026 · Patch, Suffolk Times, East End Beacon +2
Derlis C.T.: Queens 11th grader forced to sleep sitting up in ICE detentionDerlis Snaider Chusin Toaquiza, a 19-year-old Ecuadorian asylum-seeker and Queens high schooler, was detained at a court hearing and held in overcrowded facilities for weeks. He reunited with family after a $20,000 bond secured his release.Ridgewood, NY · Jul 18, 2025 · AM New York, Patch, FOX 5 New York +6Immigrants report sleeping on concrete at NYC ICE siteImmigrants held at a Lower Manhattan ICE site reported cramped rooms, little food, no bathing, and sleeping on concrete floors, with some stays lasting up to 10 days and limited medical care or family contact.New York, NY · Jul 9, 2025 · Gothamist, Newsday, Brooklyn Eagle +2
Paraguayan asylum seeker wins court-ordered release after ICE arrest outside immigration hearingA Paraguayan asylum seeker living with his sister in Flushing was arrested leaving his own immigration hearing and held in crowded conditions; a judge ruled his detention unlawful and ordered him freed.Manhattan, NY · Jul 2025 · Washington Post, CourtListener, MidPage +2- Roberto C.O.: Man detained for days in overcrowded NYC ICE facilityRoberto Chilavert Olmedo was held for days at 26 Federal Plaza during the summer 2025 ICE surge and described the conditions in written testimony as a nightmare.“I was just a body that they crammed into a room, almost as if to be forgotten,” — Nuvia MartinezManhattan, NY · Jun 2025 · Washington Post, ACLU
- 20-year-old Ecuadorian woman held nine days by ICE sleeping on floorA 20-year-old Ecuadorian woman was detained for nine days at 26 Federal Plaza without a bed, sleeping on the floor with dozens of others, before being released by a federal judge's order.“I was just a body that they crammed into a room, almost as if to be forgotten,” — Nuvia MartinezManhattan, NY · Jun 2025 · Washington Post, Leagle, Trump Whack +2
- Up to 100 detainees held on cement floors at NYC ICE facilityDetainees including Nuvia Ventura Martinez and Carlos Lopez Benitez described being held with up to 100 others in a Manhattan ICE facility, sleeping on cement floors for days with no beds or showers.Manhattan, NY · Jun 1, 2025 · The Independent, CourtListener, CourtListener +1
