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Last Thursday, I joined dozens of other New York elected officials, and more than sixty other New Yorkers, in civil disobedience at 26 Federal Plaza — where Donald Trump’s ICE continues to cruelly and lawlessly abduct, detain, and violate the rights of our neighbors.
If you want to join the growing movement of New Yorkers standing up for the rights of immigrants, please join us in a mass mobilization on Thursday, June 25 at 6:00 PM in Foley Square. You don’t need to risk arrest – I’m not going to! But we can show that we understand what it means to be a New Yorker at this urgent moment.
In a couple important ways, this arrest was different from when I was arrested back in June [ [link removed] ]. In June, I wasn’t planning to engage in civil disobedience. Then, I was just looking to accompany asylum seekers out of the building when ICE agents arrested me for simply walking arm-in-arm with someone who had just finished his court case and had the right to leave the building.
On Thursday, I had also hoped to participate in peaceful witness-bearing. But this time, I was asking to see the conditions on the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza.
Last week, a federal judge ruled [ [link removed] ] that ICE can no longer detain people in derelict, inhumane conditions at 26 Federal Plaza while NYCLU's case continues, confirming what we've known all along: the conditions of the de facto prison on the 10th floor are illegal. Despite peaceful requests to gain access to the 10th floor and bear witness, I was arrested by DHS officials before I could step foot inside.
One other important difference: when I was arrested in June, it was just me (and Edgardo). But on Thursday, there were many, many more people taking a risk alongside me. I am so grateful for the large group of New Yorkers who came together and used our collective voices to stand up for our immigrant neighbors—committed to meeting aggression and violence in the spirit of Dr. King and Ghandi’s peaceful resistance.
In addition to myself, State Senator Julia Salazar, State Senator Jabari Brisport, State Senator Gustavo Rivera, Assembly Member Robert Carroll, Assembly Member Emily Gallaghher, Assembly Member Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, Assembly Member Marcela Mitaynes, Assembly Member Claire Valdez, Assembly Member Tony Simone, and Assembly Member Steven Raga were arrested by DHS officials inside 26 Federal Plaza.
And even more folks were arrested by NYPD during an additional peaceful civil disobedience outside the building, including Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Assembly Member Phara Souffrant-Forrest, Council Member Sandy Nurse, Council Member Tiffany Caban — and more than 60 others including spiritual leaders, advocates, and everyday New Yorkers.
The broad coalition we are building together — practicing in the nonviolent civil disobedience tradition — is absolutely critical at this moment. Our movement in New York builds upon the mass actions taking place in Washington, D.C., Chicago, and many other cities where Americans are denouncing ICE and Donald Trump’s authoritarianism.
Over the past few months, I’ve been back at 26 Federal Plaza just about every week, over a dozen times, sitting in on court hearings, accompanying individuals to their check-ins, and pleading with ICE agents not to arrest fathers and mothers and brothers who are showing up for their hearings, who have not been accused of any crime.
You can read more about a few of those cases here [ [link removed] ]. But there are many more. This week, I saw an Ecuadorian woman break down sobbing after she was unable to connect with attorneys. I saw an Egyptian man abducted. On a somewhat brighter note, I recently escorted a deliverista out of court, who has rights thanks to a law we passed in the City Council, and now has a more stable job.
If you’re reading this, right now is the time to get involved. You don’t have to risk arrest, but I believe New Yorkers have a responsibility to show up and make our voices heard. That is why I hope you’ll join me this Thursday, June 25 at 6:00 PM in Foley Square (again, I do not plan on getting arrested).
In the charge I led in the historic Judson Church before last Thursday’s action, I spoke about three traditions our movement inherits. First, there is a faith tradition. In Judaism, the commandment to welcome and to love strangers is rooted in the Torah, for we were all once strangers ourselves.
Then, there is New York City’s tradition as the greatest immigrant city in the world, with that copper-plated statue in the harbor reminding us what it means to be New Yorkers. 
Third, there is the tradition of nonviolent, peaceful civil disobedience. It is a tradition that is fierce and insistent, courageous and demanding—that allows us to meet aggression and violence with a deeper commitment to humanity. In the days, weeks, and months ahead, it’s up to us to live up to our values as inheritors of these traditions. In these uncertain days, they make me feel a flicker of hope for our shared futures.

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