Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Judge tells ICE to free man arrested in Chinatown sweep, warns of unconstitutional arrests
By
Ryan Kost
Published Feb 7, 2026
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Ben Feuerherd/Gothamist
By
Ryan Kost
Published Feb 7, 2026
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A federal judge has ordered the release of a man swept up during a chaotic Chinatown immigration raid last fall, ruling that Immigration and Customs Enforcement failed to follow its own rules — and criticizing the agency’s claim of broad stop‑and‑detain authority.
The ruling stems from an ICE operation along Canal Street last October when two dozen federal agents descended on the strip, best known for its knock-off goods, and began restraining several individuals. Protestors and other bystanders soon began clashing with law enforcement officials.
At least four people were arrested, among them Mamadou Boucom Ndoye, a Malian national who had been living in the United States for more than 15 years. Though a final order of removal had been issued for Ndoye, he had been allowed to stay in the country under a federal “Order of Supervision.”
After his arrest, though, ICE revoked that order and jailed him — a move U.S. District Judge Vernon Broderick ruled violated Ndoye’s due process rights. Ndoye represented himself in the case and the ruling came in response to a writ of habeas corpus filed by his wife while he was being held in Goshen at the Orange County Correctional Facility.
In his decision, Broderick, an Obama appointee, ruled that ICE illegally detained Ndoye by ignoring its own regulations. Under the agency’s rules, only certain senior officials are allowed to revoke an Order of Supervision, but in Ndoye’s case that decision came from a lower-level officer without proper authority.
Though the ruling was narrow, Broderick didn’t hold back in his assessment of ICE’s conduct in the case.
During an earlier hearing, the government had argued that it could “check identification of anyone they encounter,” but Broderick disagreed, noting he was unaware of any case law granting “ICE carte blanche to check the identification of or detain anyone they see fit.”
The judge further raised questions about the agency’s account of how Ndoye was identified and arrested in the first place. ICE presented no warrant, Broderick wrote, nor did it offer any probable cause for the arrest or proof “the arrest was, in fact, anything more than ‘happenstance.’”
The lack of clarity, the judge wrote, is why regulations exist in the first place.
“Absent such procedures, the agency will be free to either engage in preplanned decisions to unlawfully detain individuals and then come up with post hoc rationalizations,” he wrote, “or merely randomly stage ‘encounters’ without the intent to unlawfully detain individuals and then create post hoc rationalizations for these unlawful detentions.”
Broderick ordered ICE to release Ndoye “as soon as possible” and transport him back to New York City.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tagged
Asylum Seekers
ICE
new york city
public safety
Ryan Kost
Ryan Kost is a reporter on the day-of news desk, where he covers breaking news and writes enterprise stories about jails, courts, prosecutors and government accountability. His work focuses on the public institutions that shape life in New York. Before joining the newsroom, he lead a multi-part investigation with Columbia Journalism Investigations and New York Focus into how New York prosecutors handle wrongful conviction claims. He's also been a staff writer at The San Francisco Chronicle, The Associated Press and The Oregonian. Got a tip? Signal: ryankost.20
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .