Former NYC Comptroller Brad Lander Faces Trial Over Arrest at Immigration Court

Brad Lander, a New York City Democrat and former city comptroller, is scheduled to stand trial Wednesday in federal court in Manhattan over his arrest during an effort to inspect areas where detained immigrants were being held.

Lander, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for Dan Goldman’s congressional seat covering Lower Manhattan and northwestern Brooklyn, was arrested on 18 September 2025 at 26 Federal Plaza, a Manhattan federal building that houses an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office and immigration court.

Lander and several other local elected officials went to the building amid the Trump administration’s expanded immigration enforcement efforts.

According to Lander’s legal team, agents began arresting people at the immigration court, marking what they described as a sharp departure from a long-standing federal practice of generally avoiding arrests at immigration courthouses. The surge in arrests, they said, overwhelmed processing and transfer facilities.

Lander’s attorney said in court filings that ICE instructed field offices to use “hold rooms” to detain immigrants for up to three days, exceeding the previous 12-hour maximum. ICE officials also stated that detainees could be held longer in “exceptional circumstances.”

Lander’s team said people held in the 26 Federal Plaza hold rooms were rarely detained for more than a day before 2025, with an average stay of six hours from January to April. By mid-June, the average detention time had reportedly risen to 103 hours. Some detained immigrants filed lawsuits alleging overcrowded and unsanitary conditions.

Federal Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered the Department of Homeland Security and ICE to improve conditions in the facility. On 17 September, Kaplan granted a preliminary injunction sought by plaintiffs, saying it was needed to protect people held in the 26 Federal Plaza hold rooms from “unconstitutional and inhumane treatment.”

Lander and 10 other elected officials said they went to the 10th-floor hold rooms to determine whether ICE was complying with the court order and with federal and state law. They were allowed into 26 Federal Plaza after Lander told security officers that the group consisted of elected officials.

When they reached the 10th floor, an officer standing near the elevators outside the double doors leading to the hold rooms told them they would not be allowed inside, according to Lander’s lawyer. The officials tried to explain why they wanted to inspect the rooms.

“A federal judge indicated that the conditions that are behind that door are a violation of federal law and are cruel and inhumane, and we read that decision, and we believe it is our responsibility to come down here and see for ourselves,” Lander said, according to the court papers.

The group was not allowed to inspect the hold rooms, but an officer said they could remain in the area as long as they did not bang on the doors. The officials agreed to stop banging and sat down.

According to Lander’s legal team, the group continued chanting, singing and requesting access to the hold rooms while explaining why they had come to 26 Federal Plaza. When the final elected official in the group began speaking, an officer warned: “If you refuse to leave under federal regulation, you’re going to be arrested. You are violating the law right now. You are protesting illegally.”

Lander’s lawyer said federal Protective Services officers began arresting the seated elected officials 33 seconds after the warning was issued and issued citations. Lander’s citation alleged that he had “block[ed] entrances, foyers and corridors.”

Federal officials later offered to drop the violation in October, but Lander said one condition was that he not protest inside any federal building for six months. He refused the offer.

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