Elected Officials Arrested At Manhattan Immigration Facility

Authored by Travis Gillmore via The Epoch Times,

Federal agents arrested at least a dozen New York State elected officials inside a federal facility in Manhattan used to house illegal immigrants on Sept. 18. Dozens more individuals were arrested outside the building.

“Another day, another sanctuary politician pulling a stunt in [an] attempt to get their 15 minutes of fame while endangering [Department of Homeland Security] personnel and detainees,” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for the Homeland Security Department, said in a statement.

After refusing to obey law enforcement orders, eleven elected officials were detained after attempting to access an area on the 10th floor of the facility that was being used to temporarily house the illegal immigrants.

Protesters outside the building were in front of an entrance used by vehicles transporting illegal immigrants to the facility.

Seventy-seven people were detained in all.

Brad Lander, the city’s comptroller, was arrested for the second time at the federal building after being previously detained in June.

In the most recent incident, he entered 26 Federal Plaza with a group of protesters and media and declared that he was not leaving until the illegal immigrants detained in the cells were released.

According to the Homeland Security Department, among those currently incarcerated awaiting immigration proceedings or deportation are an MS-13 gang member, a man ordered removed from the country who was repeatedly arrested for flying drones near the White House, an individual convicted of illegally possessing a firearm, and multiple drug traffickers—one who was convicted with 2 kilograms of fentanyl, enough of the deadly opioid to kill approximately 1 million people, based on Drug Enforcement Agency calculations.

The group sat down on the ground and displayed an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) banner that had ICE with a strike through it.

When the protesters refused to leave, they were detained in plastic zip-tie handcuffs.

The protesters’ behavior jeopardized the safety of federal agents and set a dangerous precedent, McLaughlin said.

“Brad Lander’s obsession with attacking the brave men and women of law enforcement, physically and rhetorically, must stop NOW,” she said.

“The men and women of ICE put their lives on the line every day to arrest violent criminal illegal aliens to protect and defend the lives of American citizens. This type of rhetoric is contributing to the 1000% surge in assaults of ICE officers through this repeated vilification and demonization of ICE.”

Calling the matter a human rights issue, Lander told reporters after he was subsequently released that more oversight is needed.

“A federal judge has indicated that the federal law is not being followed — the conditions are cruel and inhumane, that ICE is not respecting their rights,” he said.

According to the protesters, the group was attempting to verify whether authorities were complying with a court order issued on Sept. 17 directing the federal agency to reduce overcrowding and improve living conditions.

After the arrests ensued, the building was placed on lockdown after a bomb threat was called in, according to McLaughlin.