Judge Orders ICE to Fix Squalid NYC Detention Conditions

A federal judge issued a permanent injunction against ICE's New York City office, citing overcrowded, unsanitary, and degrading conditions for detainees. The ruling described detainees held for days without adequate food, water, sleeping arrangements, or medical care. The judge also noted that ICE officials attempted to sanitize records after the fact.

The ruling stems from a sharp surge in detainee numbers beginning in late May 2025, when the tenth-floor hold rooms swelled from fewer than ten occupants to between forty and seventy at once. Judge Kaplan documented that some individuals remained in these spaces for over a week, with one man held nine and a half days among roughly seventy others in cramped quarters. Detainees lacked basic provisions like cots and blankets, enduring cold air conditioning or stifling heat while lights stayed on continuously.

The judge also highlighted systemic failures beyond physical conditions, including inadequate medical attention and severely restricted access to legal counsel. Notably, Kaplan determined that ICE personnel attempted to alter records after the fact to conceal the true state of affairs. The ruling arrives alongside ICE's recent decision to cease disclosing the locations of thousands of immigrants with final deportation orders, raising further concerns about transparency and oversight.