Immigrant Detention: The Human and Economic Costs

NEW YORK – A U.S. District Court granted a permanent injunction today that requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to improve detention conditions and mitigate overcrowding at 26 Federal Plaza. Notably, the order prohibits ICE from detaining people in overcrowded holding rooms and also requires that ICE provide adequate sanitation and hygiene, as well as adequate meals and medical care for all people detained at the facility. It also orders ICE to allow all detained people to make confidential, unmonitored, and free telephone calls to their attorneys within an hour of arriving at the facility, among other protections. In September of 2025, the court granted a preliminary injunction prohibiting ICE from holding people in abusive conditions at 26 Federal Plaza after the American Civil Liberties Union, New York Civil Liberties Union, Make the Road New York, and Wang Hecker LLP filed a class action lawsuit. Despite the order, damning evidence presented at a bench trial in May 2026 showed that ICE repeatedly violated the preliminary injunction and exceeded the court-imposed capacity limits in temporary holding rooms at the facility. The temporary holding facility became a flashpoint in the Trump administration’s aggressive mass deportation and detention campaign last summer, after ICE held more than 100 people, sometimes for weeks, in inhumane, overcrowded, and unsanitary conditions without beds, showers, or adequate medical support. The government also banned in-person legal visitation, any confidential phone or video communication, and confidential exchange of written documents, in violation of people’s First and Fifth Amendment rights. Quotes from co-counsel are as follows: “While we applaud the court’s decision to issue permanent protections requiring ICE to improve conditions at 26 Federal Plaza, it shouldn’t take a federal lawsuit to get the government to comply with the law,” said Carmen Iguina Gonzalez, deputy director of immigration detention for the ACLU’s National Prison Project. “As our legal teams have argued before, the conditions at this facility were entirely a crisis of ICE’s own making. We will continue to hold ICE accountable and ensure that people’s rights are upheld.” “Today’s order rightly affirms that ICE cannot continue subjecting people to dehumanizing, abusive conditions at 26 Federal Plaza,” said Molly Biklen, Legal Director at the New York Civil Liberties Union. “We’ll continue to hold the Trump administration accountable and fight to end ICE’s cruel, unconstitutional detention conditions across New York.” “The horrific detention conditions inside 26 Federal Plaza are emblematic of this administration's contempt for the rule of law and hostility toward immigrants. Today's decision is a testament to the courage of those who endured and spoke out against conditions no human being should ever be forced to bear: severely overcrowded cells, a lack of medical care, and the denial of basic hygiene and human dignity. Thanks to the bravery of those who came forward to support this lawsuit, this ruling will help ensure that no one else is forced to endure the same inhumane treatment at 26 Federal Plaza. At the same time, we are clear-eyed that these abuses did not occur in isolation. They are part of a broader pattern of cruelty and lawlessness that has characterized this administration's treatment of immigrants over the past year, fueling fear, inflicting profound harm on communities, and undermining the rights and safety of citizens and noncitizens alike. Today's decision is a firm reminder that the Constitution demands better,” said Harold Solis, Co-Legal Director of Make the Road New York. "We are thrilled that the Court has imposed permanent, expanded protections to ensure that nobody will ever again have to experience the inhumane, traumatizing, and punitive conditions that our clients were subjected to at 26 Federal Plaza," said Heather Gregorio, a partner at Wang Hecker LLP. "We will stay vigilant to make sure that ICE complies.” The full order and opinion are available here: https://www.aclu.org/cases/barco-mercado-v-noem

Due to recent cuts to reporting requirements of deaths occurring after release, the complete number of deaths in and outside of detention could be even higher.

WASHINGTON — On Sept. 25 and Sept. 29, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals is facing a direct test of executive accountability in two high-stakes J.G.G. v. Trump hearings. Both hearings stem from the Trump administration’s March 2025 decision to invoke the wartime Alien Enemies Act to send more than 100 Venezuelan men to CECOT, El Salvador’s notorious mega-prison, without due process and in defiance of D.C. District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg’s order to halt the removal flights. The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of D.C. are counsel in this case. The Sept. 25 hearing focuses on whether the men sent to CECOT are entitled to finally get hearings, either remotely or back in the United States, to show that they are not part of the Tren de Aragua gang and that their removal from the United States under the Alien Enemies Act without a hearing was illegal. The Sept. 29 hearing focuses on accountability — specifically, whether Trump officials will face consequences for openly defying a federal judge. It will be en banc, meaning all 11 active judges will hear the argument — a procedure rarely used in the D.C. Circuit. More than 200 former judges have filed an amicus brief urging the court not to let the administration escape accountability. In opinions issued in connection with prior proceedings in this case, judges on the circuit have already written that the government’s actions forming the basis of Judge Boasberg’s contempt inquiry raised “grave rule-of-law concerns.” As Judge Pan wrote, “When the political branches cease to honor the judgments and decisions of the judiciary, the carefully calibrated structure of our government collapses, and we are no longer a society that is protected by the rule of law.” WHAT: Sept. 25 — Panel Hearing: A three-judge panel will hear argument on whether the Venezuelan men sent to CECOT without due process are entitled to a hearing. Sept. 29 — En Banc Contempt Hearing: Argument before the full D.C. Circuit on the criminal contempt inquiry into whether Trump officials willfully defied a federal court order. WHO: Lee Gelernt, Deputy Director, ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project, will argue both cases. WHEN: Friday, September 25, 9:30 a.m. ET Tuesday, September 29, 9:30 a.m. ET WHERE: Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse 333 Constitution Ave NW Washington, D.C. Court details: https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/ Court audio streaming information here: https://www.youtube.com/USCourtsCADC ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Case page: HERE Amicus brief filed by more than 200 former judges: HERE