Biden’s Executive Order: New Asylum Ban, Old Tactics

NEWARK — Yesterday, federal agents reportedly fired pepper balls and tear gas at people gathered outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, including U.S. Senator Andy Kim. This comes after days in which hundreds of individuals detained at Delaney Hall have engaged in a hunger strike decrying inhumane conditions and treatment. New Jersey elected officials, including Rep. Rob Menendez, Rep. LaMonica McIver, Rep. Analilia Mejia, Rep. Nellie Pou, Rep. Frank Pallone, Senator Andy Kim, state legislators, and Governor Mikie Sherrill, have continued to call for the closure of Delaney Hall, a facility that has been plagued by abusive conditions since it opened. The Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly obstructed officials’ access to the facility. The following is a statement from ACLU-NJ Executive Director Amol Sinha: “People detained at Delaney Hall are facing brutal and inhumane conditions. Their families and community members who are protesting their treatment, and the elected officials who are asking to inspect the facility, should not face pepper spray and rubber bullets for doing so. Our federal representatives – who have the congressional authority to conduct oversight visits of the facility – have instead taken pepper spray to their eyes and experienced abuse at the hands of federal agents.” “The calls for closure from officials across all levels of government reflect the will of a state that believes in due process, human dignity, and the rule of law. We urge the federal government to heed those calls, end the obstruction of congressional oversight, and immediately address the conditions that have driven detained people to risk their health and safety to be heard. No one should have to starve themselves to be treated with basic humanity. “The Trump administration continues to target people decrying its horrific mass detention and deportation agenda, and we need leaders at every level of government to take action to hold ICE accountable and end immigration detention. We also urge state leaders to ensure universal representation for people detained in New Jersey by increasing funding for the Detention and Deportation Defense Initiative to $20 million to meet the increased demand for legal services.” Haddy Gassama, senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, had the following reaction: “The hunger strike at Delaney Hall is not an isolated action. It is a response to longstanding, systematic abuse in immigration detention, and it joins many other similar actions across the country. Against this brutal backdrop, the rates of death in detention have been steadily rising, at an average of one death in ICE custody every six days. “It just so happens Congress is debating whether to give the Department of Homeland Security another $70 billion to continue ramping up their mass deportations, all while federal agents shoot rubber bullets and pepper spray at elected officials, families of detainees, and community members. Their sickening display in Newark this Memorial Day weekend is but the latest reminder why our representatives and Senators must hold firm and refuse to be complicit in fueling ICE’s reckless abuses in our communities."

An individual detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sued the Trump administration over lack of access to legal counsel and unsafe conditions at 26 Federal Plaza, a federal building in New York where more than 100 people have been confined, sometimes for weeks, to a temporary holding facility operated by ICE. The holding facility is only meant to temporarily hold people who are immigrants for a matter of hours as they are processed before release or transported to a longer-term detention facility. It has no beds, showers, or adequate medical support. However, as ICE has increased its arrests of immigrants, it has packed people into the holding cells at 26 Federal Plaza, where they are detained for extended periods of time, often for a week or more. Detained individuals have estimated that ICE has packed between 70 to 90 people into a room of approximately 215 square feet.

This lawsuit challenges DHS’ policy of authorizing agents to enter homes without judicially signed warrants.

ICE is now largely prohibited from conducting civil immigration arrests at immigration courts in New York City NEW YORK – Following Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) recent admission that it has no justification for conducting mass arrests at courthouses, a federal district court today granted a stay in African Communities Together and The Door v. Todd Lyons — the lawsuit filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Make the Road NY (MRNY), and Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward Maazel LLP (ECBAWM) challenging ICE’s cruel, unlawful policies that allow ICE agents to arrest people for showing up to court and prevent them from pursuing their immigration cases. With this stay, ICE officers are largely prohibited from conducting civil immigration enforcement actions in or near 26 Federal Plaza, 201 Varick Street, and 290 Broadway as the case proceeds. Now, officers must adhere to ICE’s 2021 guidance, which only permits immigration court arrests in very limited circumstances. “Today’s ruling is an enormous win for noncitizen New Yorkers seeking to safely attend their immigration court proceedings,” said Amy Belsher, director of Immigrants’ Rights Litigation at the New York Civil Liberties Union. “For nearly a year, we’ve watched masked ICE officers ambush noncitizens in courthouse hallways, throw immigrant New Yorkers to the ground, and tear children from their parents. Now, ICE has admitted that it does not and has never had an explanation or justification for conducting mass arrests at immigration courts. We look forward to a final ruling in the case that sets aside these cruel, pointless policies once and for all.” “In the face of this administration’s ongoing targeting of our young members, this decision brings us hope,” said Beth Baltimore, deputy director of The Door’s Legal Services Center. “Our staff continues to work tirelessly to support Door members who were terrified to go to their required court appearances. We stand with our members to fight for those impacted by courthouse arrests, including those who remain detained, and other cruel policies.” The organizations originally filed this lawsuit on behalf of African Communities Together and The Door on August 1, 2025. Soon after, the orgs asked for expedited relief through a stay, which the Court partly denied in September 2025. But then, in a shocking revelation in March, the government admitted that a 2025 memorandum — which it had relied on throughout the case to justify its immigration court arrest policy — does not and has never authorized any immigration courthouse arrests. Immediately after, the organizations asked the Court to reconsider its denial — which is what has happened today. “The court was correct to block the Trump administration’s inhumane and unlawful tactic of ambushing people who are complying with their legal obligations at their court appointments,” said Hannah Steinberg, staff attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. “We are grateful that the court recognized today what our clients and immigrant communities have been saying all along: allowing ICE to arrest people at immigration court without any limits undermines access to justice and erodes trust in the legal system,” said Katie Rosenfeld, partner at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP. “Today’s decision restores critical protections for people appearing in immigration court and reaffirms that federal agencies must follow the law when changing policies that affect fundamental rights and due process.” “For nearly a year, countless immigrant New Yorkers have been arrested simply for attending their court hearings at 26 Federal Plaza,” said Harold Solis, co-legal director of Make the Road New York. “Our clients tried to put a stop to this last year but were denied preliminary relief—based on what the government recently acknowledged was false information. All the while, immigration courthouses became places of fear, and not due process. Almost on a daily basis, parents were ripped away from their children, students were detained, and loved ones disappeared into inhumane detention centers as a result of these immigration courthouse arrests. We welcome today’s decision, which for many will feel long overdue. For them and the countless others who remain fearful, we hope today signals an end to this chaos.” Since Trump took office, ICE has mounted an unprecedented campaign of arresting people at their mandated immigration court hearings, and then trying to fast track their deportation. This includes Dylan, a 16-year-old Bronx high school who ICE arrested when attending a routine court date, and Oliver Mata Velazquez, a 19 year old living in Buffalo who ICE targeted, detained, and fast tracked for deportation. The NYCLU filed a lawsuit challenging Oliver’s unlawful arrest and secured his release.