Immigration court

What goes on in America’s immigration courts

A dispatch from the elevator bank of the 12th floor of 26 Federal Plaza

Jul 10, 2025 03:13 PM | NEW YORK

The face of the law

“MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!”, cried a federal agent as officers huddled around an asylum seeker who had just left his immigration hearing. Moments earlier the agents’ phones had beeped and vibrated. They had received a photo of the next person they were to detain. They walked to the elevator bank. A couple of agents held the elevator doors open. The migrant was shaking. He was one of at least 23 people detained by ICE on a recent Tuesday in New York City.

Detentions at immigration court rose fast about six weeks ago. At first it was people whose asylum cases were dismissed who were detained. Having a case dismissed used to be a good thing. It meant the next stage of the immigration process could begin outside the court system. Now, dismissal could mean rapid deportation. Many of those now being detained by federal agents had just been given court dates by the judge, which means they have a temporary right to be in America.

Most of the federal agents cover their faces with masks or balaclavas. They are in plain clothes, with most wearing a vest in black or army green that says “POLICE FEDERAL AGENT” or “BORDER PATROL”. A few have ICE shields on their belts. One says that they are from different federal agencies and have been deployed to New York from elsewhere.

“Today is not a good day,” says Benjamin Remy, a lawyer with New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG), a charity. It was a Thursday and the third day in a row of mass detentions. “We’ve never seen this. These judges have never seen this. Court staff has never seen it.” He says due process is being ignored.

Migrants are moved quickly and often to different detention centres round the country, making it hard for people to communicate with loved ones and with lawyers. Melissa Chua of NYLAG says that her clients are disappearing from the system. “These are people who have valid claims for asylum,” says Ms Chua. “They’re trying to do the right thing. It shouldn’t require an army of lawyers to get them out of detention. They’re not a flight risk, they’re not a danger to the community.”

Children look on fearfully. One New York police officer, who said he voted for President Donald Trump, cried when his friend, a Haitian immigrant, was detained and whisked away. Agents surrounded a married couple, detained the woman and released her husband. He was shaking. He said they both had hearing dates for 2026. ■