ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on August 12 directing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to improve conditions at its holding facility at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan. The order followed a class-action lawsuit from immigrant and civil rights advocates describing ICE detention as horrifying, inhumane, and dehumanizing.
The lawsuit claimed that immigrants are held in crowded rooms without access to hygiene products, enough food, anywhere to sleep, or private calls with lawyers. The American Civil Liberties Union, New York Civil Liberties Union, Make the Road New York, and Wang Hecker LLP brought the lawsuit on behalf of plaintiffs including Sergio Alberto Barco Mercado on August 8.
In court, the government's legal representation acknowl