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Federal trial reveals ICE knew about 'insane' crowding in NYC holding cells
By
Arya Sundaram
Published May 27, 2026
Modified May 28, 2026
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Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images
By
Arya Sundaram
Published May 27, 2026
Modified May 28, 2026
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Lige Hampton said in a court deposition that he was concerned about “the safety of everyone there,” referring to the ICE holding cells at his workplace, 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan.
In a June 24 email, another ICE agent, Carla Calidonio, wrote, “This is insane,” adding that they “desperately need" to remove some detainees from the site.
And in an email later that summer, ICE Deputy Field Office Director Judith Almodovar wrote that staff were working overtime to staff the holding cells and that the conditions inside were “creating an unsafe environment.”
The emails and testimony from ICE agents surfaced for the first time publicly in U.S. District Court on Wednesday in a trial brought by immigrants who were detained in holding rooms at 26 Federal Plaza, the sprawling federal complex in Lower Manhattan.
The detainees sued the Trump administration, contending conditions inside the holding cells have been inhumane.
The emails and testimony, unearthed by the plaintiffs in discovery, show that ICE workers themselves raised concerns over the conditions. The four cells were regularly crammed with over 100 detainees — and at times upwards of 150 — according to the plaintiffs’ attorneys.
Heather Gregorio, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said in her opening argument to the court that the evidence "paints a picture of a crisis of defendants' own making."
Another federal judge recently barred ICE officers from making arrests at the immigration courts at 26 Federal Plaza, which, up until recently, has been a hotbed for enforcement activity, both at the courts and the ICE check-in centers on floors below.
The building itself has emerged as a centerpiece in the Trump administration’s ICE crackdown in New York City. Many immigrants have been arrested there and then detained — in some cases for days — at the holding cells, which were intended as temporary sites to hold people for less than 12 hours, before transferring them to more permanent detention centers.
A federal judge in August ordered ICE to limit overcrowding and improve conditions at the 26 Federal Plaza holding cells — but the ruling was temporary, only in place while the court case proceeded. The plaintiffs’ attorneys are requesting that Judge Lewis Kaplan extend his order and put more provisions in place to protect detained immigrants.
In Wednesday’s court proceedings, lawyers for the federal government said ICE has been complying with the judge’s order, except briefly for a few hours on two dates, and asked that no further requirements be imposed.
But Kaplan raised another point, interrupting U.S. attorney Rachel Kroll as she was giving her opening statement, “One of the questions before me is: Should you be able to use those facilities at all?”
ICE records also showed that detainees have been held in the holding cells with coronavirus, mental illness, panic attacks, severe dementia, ovarian cysts, kidney failure and tuberculosis, for six days in July at the peak of the overcrowding at the facility — according to the plaintiffs’ attorneys.
Emails unearthed by the plaintiffs’ attorneys also showed that ICE agents were at times aware they were violating the judge’s temporary restraining order.
“We are in violation of the TRO,” Nancy Zanello, the assistant director of the ICE New York City field office, wrote in an Aug. 18 email, adding that there were 48 people in the ICE holding rooms that day and 13 more coming in.
That same day, Zanello signed a sworn declaration that said, “as of 11:59 p.m. EDT Aug. 15, 2025, there are currently 8 aliens in custody at the 26 Federal Plaza ERO Field Office.”
According to the plaintiffs’ attorneys, ICE contractor logbooks showed that, at the time, there were over 20 people detained at the time than Zanello attested to on Aug. 15, and 60 people on Aug. 18, the day she signed the declaration.
Kaplan said that, in the most “charitable” view, Zanello’s declaration was “egregiously misleading.”
Kroll, the U.S. attorney, said any discrepancies came from a delay between the drafting of the declaration and its signing.
ICE Officer LaDeon Francis wrote in one internal email that the agency was a “victim of our own success,” adding that officers were arresting more people in immigration courthouses “than bed space can be found for locally.”
In the lawsuit, detained immigrants have complained of unsanitary conditions last summer, including a lack of showers, hygiene products, blankets, and inadequate food. ICE contractor logbooks show that last summer, detainees on average received only two meals a day, and at times only one meal.
Renderings of the holding areas prepared by the plaintiff attorneys showed the rooms were at times so crowded that detainees were unable to lie down.
Gregorio argued that ICE for many months has not complied with the judge’s order , which requires detainees to be provided at least 50 square feet of space. Gregorio said on nearly half the days the detainee population has exceeded the 22-person limit set by the judge.
Kroll said the data Gregorio relied on was overly broad, applying to the entirety of 26 Federal Plaza, including other floors beyond the 10th floor hold rooms. But Gregorio countered, saying that some individuals hold rooms still exceeded their maximum allowed capacity.
Kroll also said ICE is, in accordance with Judge Kaplan’s order, providing soap, hygiene products, blankets, and three meals per day to detainees, who also have a nurse available at all times. She added, per Kaplan’s order, detainees are given a written notice of their rights, which is also posted on the plexiglass wall of the holding areas. There is now also a room to make confidential calls, she said.
However, Kroll admitted that some of the plaintiffs’ attorneys' allegations were true regarding conditions at 26 Federal Plaza holding cells over the summer.
“The facts are the facts… The cells were overcrowded,” Kroll said in her opening statement.
Kaplan has not yet made a ruling in the case.
Correction: A previous version of this story misattributed an email sent by an ICE official. It also mischaracterized an analysis of ICE detainee population data.
Tagged
Race And Justice Unit
immigration
new york city
Arya Sundaram
Arya is a reporter covering race and justice. Got a tip? Email: [email protected] or reach Arya on Signal at 512-650-8767.
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