Gangbanger, Drug Trafficker Among ICE Detainees Dems Allegedly Demanded Be Released

New York Democrats allegedly demanded the release of detainees at an immigration holding facility processing a convicted drug trafficker, a confirmed MS-13 gangbanger and other convicted criminals.

Roughly a dozen Democratic elected officials were arrested Thursday for allegedly attempting to obstruct justice at 26 Federal Plaza in New York, New York, the location of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) holding facility. The elected officials were among the nearly 80 individuals arrested as they demanded access to holding rooms and staged a sit-in inside the building. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: A First-Of-Its-Kind Case Could Completely Change The Fight Against Immigration Fraud)

“Another day, another sanctuary politician pulling a stunt in attempt to get their 15 minutes of fame while endangering DHS personnel and detainees,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a subsequent public statement. The DHS spokeswoman particularly singled out NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, who was among those arrested.

“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,” McLaughlin stated. “He yelled inside the building that he was ‘not leaving’ until detainees were ‘released.’”

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 18: Comptroller Brad Lander joins 11 local elected officials inside lower Manhattan’s federal building, demanding access to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) holding area on the building’s 10th floor on September 18, 2025, in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Among the detainees being processed at the building are a confirmed MS-13 gangbanger convicted of criminal possession of a weapon, an illegal migrant convicted of drug trafficking and a second one convicted of criminal possession of a gun, according to DHS. An illegal migrant allegedly caught with 2kg of fentanyl — worth a street value of hundreds of thousands of dollars and the potential to kill thousands — is also among those detained.

DHS did not respond to a request from the Daily Caller News Foundation for additional information about detainees at the immigration holding facility.

The chaos on Thursday resulted in a bomb threat that forced the building to go on lockdown, according to DHS. Federal law enforcement and the New York Police Department arrested Lander, two New York State senators, nine New York State assembly members and other protesters.

The Manhattan government building, which houses an immigration court and the FBI’s New York field office, has been subject to public scrutiny in recent times. A Clinton-appointed judge issued a preliminary injunction on Wednesday that requires immigration officials to provide more adequate space and accommodations for detainees.

This is not the first time Lander has been arrested for allegedly obstructing ICE enforcement operations.

While running to become the next mayor of NYC, Lander was arrested in June for allegedly assaulting DHS officers at the very same Manhattan building. He ultimately lost his bid for the Democratic nomination to self-described democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani.

“Brad Lander’s obsession with attacking the brave men and women of law enforcement, physically and rhetorically, must stop NOW,” McLaughlin stated. “This type of rhetoric is contributing to the 1000% surge in assaults of ICE officers through this repeated vilification and demonization of ICE.”

Other Democrats have attracted national attention for allegedly causing disruptions at ICE detention centers. In May, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was denied entry into a building and arrested after he allegedly “committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings” to remove himself from an immigration detention center. Democratic New Jersey Rep. LaMonica McIver, one of several lawmakers present during that incident, was later indicted for allegedly assaulting and obstructing immigration officers during the confrontation.

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