Protesters clad as Lady Justice and the Statue of Liberty, advocating against ICE, were apprehended outside a Manhattan Immigration court, uttering the famous phrase, "Give me liberty, or give me death."
Protest Against ICE at Lower Manhattan's Immigration Court
On August 11, 2025, a group of protesters, mainly seniors and activists from Extinction Rebellion, staged a demonstration outside 26 Federal Plaza in New York City. The protest, aimed at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), involved blocking traffic on Broadway and Thomas Street, and the use of symbolic props such as an upside-down American flag and a plastic skeleton donning an ICE outfit [1].
The demonstrators, who also included protesters dressed as the Statue of Liberty and Lady Justice, claimed that immigrants were being apprehended unexpectedly by masked ICE agents during their court hearings and taken to a holding area on the 10th floor of the building. They denounced these practices as "beyond immoral" [1].
The protest was met with a heavy police presence, with officers lining the sidewalks, blocking the press from seeing most of what was taking place. Cops rushed in and began cuffing the protesters minutes after they stood in the roadway [1].
Dozens of protesters were arrested by the NYPD, though specific charges and counts were not disclosed [1][2]. Advocates have expressed deep concern about the secrecy of arrests made at immigration courthouses and offices in New York, reporting over 2,300 ICE arrests since January 2025—a nearly 200% increase [3].
Protesters and advocates have also accused ICE of detaining immigrants in poor conditions inside the federal immigration processing center at 26 Federal Plaza. A video released by the New York Immigration Coalition appeared to show men confined in a bare room on the 10th floor, with minimal facilities [2]. However, DHS and ICE have denied these claims, asserting that the building is a processing, not detention, center and that detainees receive adequate meals, medical care, and communication access [2].
This ongoing conflict highlights sharp tensions between immigrant rights activists and federal enforcement agencies in Lower Manhattan’s immigration court setting. Officers prevented credentialed journalists from capturing the arrests, pushing them back under threat of arrest. One photographer asserted that they are legally allowed to capture the arrests [1].
[1] New York Post, "Protesters arrested outside Lower Manhattan immigration court," August 11, 2025. [2] CNN, "ICE denies claims of poor conditions in New York immigration processing center," August 12, 2025. [3] NBC News, "Advocates demand end to aggressive ICE enforcement tactics in New York," August 14, 2025.
