Another planned political stunt resulted in a dozen New York state and local elected officials getting arrested last week in defense of criminal illegals being held at a temporary holding facility in New York City.
State and city officials, led by Comptroller Brad Lander, staged a sit-in in the hallway at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan. The federal building is home to immigration court, the FBI‘s New York field office and a 10th-floor temporary holding center for those detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Another day with more politicians pulling a stunt in attempt to get their 15 minutes of fame while endangering DHS personnel and detainees,” said Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The now-viral scene unfolded after more than 70 people, including Comptroller Lander, a Democrat who was arrested in June for a similar stunt, showed up unannounced with the media and caused a scene outside the building.
McLaughlin discussed the incident during an interview with Newsmax, which was later shared on social media. Agitators and sanctuary politicians obstructed law enforcement and demanded the release of all detainees who were in the facility, she said.
“These New York City sanctuary politicians should have to answer to their constituents: why were they demanding the release of a MS-13 gang member, a drug trafficker, and an illegal alien in possession of a firearm?” McLaughlin said.
Lander yelled that he wouldn’t leave until detainees were released and brought other lawmakers to demand access to the 10th-floor detention facility.
The lawmakers were arrested by New York Police Department and later had their charges dropped, which Newsmax questioned during an interview with McLaughlin.
Organizers of the protest allege the lawmakers showed up to “conduct oversight” of conditions at the 10th-floor processing facility. The protest occurred a day after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction ordering ICE to clean up the facility and require changes in its operation, The Associated Press reported.
DHS, the agency that oversees ICE, issued a statement saying there are only 16 detainees at the processing center, including MS-13 gang members and criminals convicted of illegal possession of a weapon, drug trafficking and serial drunk drivers.
McLaughlin said one individual was arrested and charged for illegally flying a drone near the White House “for God knows what reason,” adding “Why do these politicians continue to protect and do the bidding of criminal illegal aliens at the expense of their own constituents?”
DHS released the names of the “worst of the worst” illegal criminals being processed at 26 Federal Plaza, which lawmakers wanted released back onto the streets:
- Vladimir Kuca, an Albanian national who illegally entered the U.S. in 2023 and was released into the country under the Biden administration. He has been convicted ofdrug trafficking in Switzerland and was handed over to ICE by the FBI on September 18, 2025.
- David Abrego Alvarado, an illegal alien from El Salvador, who is a confirmedMS-13 gang member. He was first removed from the U.S. in 2017 and illegally returned in 2023 and was paroled into the U.S. He has a DWI conviction.
- Juan Hernandez Saravia, criminal illegal alien from El Salvador, who is a confirmed MS-13 gang member. He has been convicted of three DUIs and has two additional convictions for possession of a weapon. He was previously removed in 2007 and re-entered the U.S. illegally at an unknown date and time.
- Juan Enrique Pena Soriano from the Dominican Republic who illegally entered the U.S. at an unknown date and time. He was arrested by the DEA for possession of a controlled substanceand turned over to ICE.
- Asker Aslanovich Khutov, a Russian national who illegally overstayed a B-2 tourist visa and has a final order of removal from an immigration judge. He has been convicted of criminal possession of stolen property.
- Miguel Ramirez from Mexico who illegally entered the U.S. at an unknown date and time. He has been charged with restricted consumption and was previously convicted for resisting arrest.
“These are the criminal illegal aliens these sanctuary politicians were fighting to be released back onto the streets of New York City,” McLaughlin said, adding that “Lander’s obsession with attacking the brave men and women of law enforcement, physically and rhetorically, must stop NOW.”
ICE sources claim officers had to secure doors with locks and zip ties after protesters pushed to enter, and additional security had to be added, Fox News Digital reported.
More than 70 people were arrested, including Lander, along with other Democrat state Senators Jabari Brisport, Gustavo Rivera and Julia Salazar and Assemblymembers Robert Carroll, Emily Gallagher, Jessica Gonzalez Rojas, Marcela Mitaynes, Steve Raga, Tony Simone and Claire Valdez, local outlet The City reported.
Lander pulled a similar stunt in June and got arrested in the hallway of the same building. He linked arms with an immigrant exiting an immigration court as federal agents tried to detain him.
The building was placed under a lockdown afterward because “someone called in a bomb threat,” McLaughlin said.
In another interview on Fox News’ “The Faulkner Focus,” ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan talked about the violent rhetoric driving these protests and the fact Democrats are protecting criminals.
“I think this keeps happening because of the dangerous rhetoric that the Democrats continue to push against our law enforcement officers who are enforcing immigration law,” Sheahan said. “These are not people you and I want in our communities. These are people that we need to remove from this country and we are doing just that thanks to President Trump and Secretary Noem.”
The New York state and local elected officials joined protesters at the building Thursday to raise concerns over conditions at the facility and make sure the feds were complying with a court order to improve the treatment of detainees, Reuters reported.
The lawmakers demanded access to the 10th-floor holding rooms and refused to leave, eventually staging a sit-in in the hallway, encircled around a sign showing a slash through the word “ICE” and surrounded by news reporters and photographers, the AP reported.
Reuters reported the city’s public advocate, Jumaane Williams, led another group of several dozen anti-ICE protesters who blocked the building’s garage entrance, sitting on the pavement with signs and chanting, “Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here.”
Those arrested were among a coalition of politicians, advocates and faith leaders who were there to “ensure compliance” with a court order requiring ICE to improve conditions at the processing center, protest organizers said.
The 10th-floor holding cells are the subject of ongoing litigation, alleging inhumane conditions and overcrowding. A federal judge extended a court order that requires the agency to limit capacity, ensure cleanliness and provide sleeping mats, among other remedies, the coalition said.
