City Comptroller Brad Lander said on Tuesday that he is forcing the federal government into a criminal trial over his arrest this summer during a sit-in protest at 26 Federal Plaza, where ICE has detained hundreds of law-abiding immigrants.

The city's fiscal watchdog and immigrant advocate appeared in federal court on Nov. 18 and formally rejected a plea deal for his Sept. 18 arrest. Lander said his main objective is to get some answers from the federal government about what has been happening inside detention areas within Federal Plaza, where he and other lawmakers have been repeatedly denied access.

“Let's be clear that crime is what ICE is doing in those detention facilities,” Lander said before walking into federal court at 500 Pearl St. on Nov. 18.

The Sept. 18 protest involved Lan

See Full Page