State Sen. Gustavo Rivera (S.D. 33), City Comptroller and former Democratic mayoral candidate, Brad Lander, and 70 others, including ten other elected officials, were arrested on Thursday evening, Sept. 18, inside or near 26 Federal Plaza courthouse in Manhattan, as an ICE [U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement] protest took place nearby, according to various sources.

 

The elected officials and protestors had been calling for an end to the disappearance, seemingly but inconclusively, by federal agents of various New Yorkers including high school students, off the City’s streets and courthouses, as well as demanding to inspect the conditions under which people were being held at the federal courthouse after a federal judge ruled the previous day that the conditions under which people were being detained at 26 Federal Plaza were inhumane and in violation of federal law.

 

Other elected officials arrested on the 10th floor of the federal building, according to reporting by Ken Schles, included State Sen. Jabari Brisport (S.D. 25), Assemblymember Bobby Carrol (A.D. 44), Assemblymember Emily Gallagher (A.D. 50),  Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas, (A.D. 34), Assemblymember Marcela Mitaynes (A.D. 51), Assemblymember Steven Raga (A. D. 30), State Sen. Julia Salazar (S.D. 18), Assemblymember Tony Simone (A.D. 75), and Assemblymember Claire Valdez (A.D. 37).

 

Rivera said those arrested inside the building were processed and later released the same evening. Elsewhere, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, among others, was also arrested amid a nearby ICE protest.

 

In reference to the incident, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, said on Thursday, “Another day, another sanctuary politician pulling a stunt in attempt to get their 15 minutes of fame while endangering DHS personnel and detainees.”

 

Referring to those arrested as “agitators” she continued, “Here are the facts: Brad Lander showed up to 26 Federal Plaza unannounced with agitators and media and proceeded to obstruct law enforcement and cause a scene. He yelled inside the building that he was ‘not leaving’ until detainees were ‘released.’”

The statement continued, “As a result of the chaos caused by Lander, Federal Protective Service called NYPD and local police, along with federal law enforcement, arrested 71 agitators and sanctuary politicians including Brad Lander, two New York State senators, and nine New York State assembly members, and now the building is on lockdown because someone called in a bomb threat.”

 

Norwood News had contacted both ICE and the NYPD for exact details of the circumstances leading up to the arrests on Thursday, as well as the charges. Both agencies later referred us to DHS on Friday when we received the information shared above.

 

The arrest of Rivera, a staunch ally of Democratic mayoral nominee, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani (A.D. 36), follows an apparent round-up/detention on Tuesday evening, Sept. 9, of around four young people seemingly but inconclusively by federal agents from a section of the Grand Concourse close to the Poe Building in the Fordham Manor section of The Bronx in which the senator’s office is located. [More on this to follow.]

 

In a statement released Thursday evening in connection with his arrest, the senator said, “This is the first time I’m getting arrested but it’s nothing in comparison to what thousands of New Yorkers are experiencing when getting literally kidnapped off the streets or in the courthouse by ICE.

 

He continued, “I’m proud to stand with colleagues, advocates, and faith leaders who bravely put their bodies on the line to demand that our people are treated humanely and in accordance with the law. For the sake of communities like mine in The Bronx, we must pass “New York for All [Act].”

According to the New York Immigrant Coalition, the act, if passed, would help immigrant New Yorkers lead more open lives and take care of family. They said it preserves state and local resources for local communities, and ensures New York dollars cannot be diverted to carry out what they describe as a “cruel, politicized immigration agenda.”

 

The coalition add that the legislation prohibits New York’s state and local government agencies, including police and sheriffs, from colluding with ICE, disclosing sensitive information, and diverting personnel or other resources to further federal immigration enforcement. NYIC officials said, “By passing the New York for All Act, we’ll be one step closer to cultivating safe and vibrant communities for all New Yorkers, regardless of status.”

 

Rivera continued, “Our State and local authorities should not act as federal immigration officers. We cannot allow New York to be complicit in the Trump administration’s lawless deportation squad that is literally disappearing New Yorkers and separating families without mercy.”

 

He added, “As New York elected representatives, we must push back strongly and loudly against the Trump administration’s unlawful and racist efforts. Today’s action is our way to show them that we will continue to demand justice, protection, and due process as enshrined in our constitution for every New Yorker regardless of immigration status.”

 

Explaining his presence at the courthouse to the media prior to his arrest, the senator had said in part, “What I was doing here with my colleagues is to be a witness to what is going on in our country. Let us not lie to ourselves. If we want to live in a democracy, then we actually have to fight for it, and what we see here today is exactly the opposite of that.”

The senator continued, “We’re seeing in our corners, in our street corners, just a few days ago in front of my office up in The Bronx on the Grand Concourse, an unmarked van with masked people with no identifying markers from any law enforcement office, snatching people off the streets just because they didn’t speak English. This is the type of thing that happens in every corner of our state and our country and so today, we were wanting to come here because, as my colleagues have said, what is going on in the 10th floor of this building [federal courthouse] is not only violating federal law, but let’s not lie to ourselves….”

 

He added, “What is happening across our country is…. we have a fascist dictatorship that is starting, that is trying to take over our country and we cannot allow it. In good conscience, everyone who believes in democracy needs to stand up right now so we felt that it was necessary to come here and be witnesses to what is happening to our neighbors. We could not see them today but we’re not going to stop today and they need to know that.”

 

It’s not the first time elected officials have been arrested for attempting to obtain greater transparency around the disappearance and detention of immigrants off the streets of the City.

 

In June, as reported, Democratic Congressmembers Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), who represents parts of northern Manhattan and the west Bronx, and Nydia Velázquez (NY-7), who represents parts of Brooklyn and who was also a relatively early supporter of Mamdani’s mayoral campaign, were denied access to visit an ICE detention center in Manhattan.

 

As in June, as reported, the city comptroller was arrested inside a Manhattan courthouse when he tried to obtain more information about the arrest of an immigrant. He was later released following the intervention of NY Gov. Kathy Hochul. His arrest came amid his campaign to clinch the Democratic primary in June, which he ultimately lost to Mamdani. Nonetheless, Lander is a friend/supporter of Mamdani, with the two cross-endorsing each other during the primary season.

According to the Pew Research Center, in January 2025, 53.3 million immigrants lived in the United States – the largest number ever recorded. “In the ensuing months, however, more immigrants left the country or were deported than arrived,” an extract from the Center’s website reads. “By June, the country’s foreign-born population had shrunk by more than a million people, marking its first decline since the 1960s.”

 

A new Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data finds that, as of June 2025, 51.9 million immigrants lived in the U.S., 15.4% of all U.S. residents were immigrants, down from a recent historic high of 15.8%, and 19% of the U.S. labor force were immigrants, down from 20% and by over 750,000 workers since January.

 

Critics of the Progressive Left have long categorized the arrests of various elected officials for their opposition to ICE tactics as political theater, particularly amid election season. On the other hand, as reported, in a further signal of the Trump administration’s chilling effect on Sanctuary cities like New York, federal authorities have already hit New York politicians, with the exception of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, with a lawsuit over alleged ICE raid tip offs.

 

Whatever the protest methodology, the fact remains the country is not only experiencing an ever-increasing crackdown on free speech, as evidenced by the recent cancellations / suspensions of TV talk show hosts like Stephen Colbert, and more recently Jimmy Kimmel, both highly vocal critics of U.S. President Donald Trump, but also a tendency [in our experience at least] towards a lack of transparency by federal agencies in response to questions by the media about the apparent and unexplained disappearance of New Yorkers off the City’s streets.

 

This is particularly worrisome during an age when child street kidnappings have become more and more common. Every 40 seconds, a child goes missing or is abducted in the United States according to the Child Crime Prevention and Safety Center.

Rivera later said of his arrest, “We cannot allow the fascist actions of the federal government to continue to terrorize our families not only in New York but throughout the entire country. This is just the beginning, we must remain united, stand up and speak out against these undemocratic actions. #ICEoutofNY” Norwood News spoke to the senator post-release. More to follow. 

 

For more on the topic of immigration, click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

 

Elected officials are encouraging New York residents to call the governor’s office directly on 1-518-474-8390 to stop similar “abductions and abuses” in New York courts and neighborhoods and to pass the NY4All Act.