Inside New York’s immigration courts, detentions happen quietly — in stairwells, hallways, and elevators. This PRESENTATION documents THE PAST MONTH AND A HALF inside 26 Federal Plaza AND 290 BROADWAY, where ICE agents routinely detain people moments after their hearings. These are the moments before and after.
Led through a side stairwell, another detained individual disappears from sight. These back corridors of the courthouse have become the hidden arteries of a silent system — one that removes people from their families behind closed doors.
He had just walked out of his immigration hearing when agents surrounded him. His hands were cuffed before he could react. Later on his brother reached out to me because he saw this photo on social media and he told me that he hasn't heard from his brother in days and only just found out he'd been transferred to Richwood Correctional Center in Lousiana.
He clutched court papers in his hands as two Border Patrol agents flanked him and lead him toward the stairway.
A woman sobs, clutching her baby, moments after her older son is taken by ICE. Her cries cut through the hallway.
The boy at the center of this frame has just been detained by ICE. His mother, seen sobbing earlier while holding a baby, had no warning. He is now being led to the elevator— the beginning of a separation they weren’t prepared for.
A father grips his son tightly as ICE checks if he is on their deportation list. Both of them are visibly frightened — frozen in place, waiting. After several tense minutes, they are allowed to leave. But the fear lingers.
An ICE agent watches through the small window of the stairwell door after escorting a detained person inside. This stairwell leads to the 10th floor — a restricted area where those arrested are held before being transported.
A woman, smiling and unaware of what awaits her, steps out of an immigration courtroom in New York. Moments later, ICE agents surround her. This was before she knew the man in front of her was ICE who was there to detain her.
Shock washes over her face as she realizes the man beside her is an ICE agent. Moments earlier, she had walked out of her immigration hearing smiling. Now she is frozen, surrounded. After this photo was taken, she was led into a stairwell — her cries echoed down the courthouse hallway long after she disappeared from view.
A masked ICE agent blocks the camera as a young man is ordered to face the wall. The tension in the hallway is palpable — arrests like this unfold quickly, quietly, without warning.
A man looks scared and disoriented as ICE detains him in the hallway outside immigration court as he's quickly ushered to the stairwell.
She looked down, crying quietly as officers closed in. The immigration attorney, standing to the right, reminded her she had the right to remain silent—so she said nothing. Moments later, they escorted her away. Her hands gripped her paperwork.
Two federal agents walk a man down the hallway after his immigration hearing. Escorted by officers in tactical vests and masks, he disappears around the corner—another name crossed off the list.
He has just been told there is a warrant for his arrest. Standing outside the courtroom, arms folded, eyes lowered, he does not protest — he simply goes still. The weight of that moment settles into his body as ICE agents surround him.
A Border Patrol agent lifts his hand toward a camera as press close in, documenting the tense walk to the stairwell. This moment—caught between flash and silence—captures the friction that follows nearly every detainment, as officers rush to remove the person in custody.
Masked agents stand beneath portraits of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance as they wait for the immigration hearing to get out.
The lobby of 26 Federal Plaza.
A mother crouched to hold her daughter close, just outside the courtroom doors. Thankfully neither of her parents were taken and they were free to leave after their individual hearing took hours.
Two ICE agents lift their phones to film the press — capturing journalists as they document arrests.
In the background stands immigration attorney Benjamin Remy, who returns week after week to advocate for those at risk of detention. In the foreground, ICE agents stand in silence.
A woman turns to look back, confused and concerned, as her loved one is taken by ICE. He doesn’t speak English. She tries to follow, hoping to translate — but federal agents block her path. Her face holds the weight of helplessness.
A man learns he’s about to be detained by ICE. His body tenses as the words sink in. In front of him stands a court observer, trying to shield him — speaking, questioning, protecting. But around them, the hallway tightens.
A woman watches silently as her boyfriend is led toward the stairwell by ICE agents. Her expression is unreadable — anger, fear, helplessness all blurred into stillness. She stands just feet away but cannot follow.
He doesn’t resist. He doesn’t speak. As ICE agents grab hold of him, his expression says everything — a quiet, devastating surrender.
The badge worn at the hip of an ICE agent.
A man is detained by ICE as a court observer steps in, trying to get his wife’s phone number before he’s taken away.
A little girl walks into immigration court holding a stuffed animal, smiling brightly as cameras follow.
Two ICE agents share a brief moment in the hallway — a hand on the shoulder, words exchanged quietly.
He stood mostly still, tucked against the wall just outside the courtroom. No name tag, no visible badge—only the black mask and tactical vest marked him as law enforcement.
A man is detained in the middle of a crowded hallway. The tension in the room shifts as ICE agents close in — onlookers stop, watching, frozen.
After their hearings, people walk tentatively past ICE agents posted outside the immigration courtroom. One agent leans asleep against the wall.
An ICE agent leans casually against the wall, smiling as a press camera captures the moment.
ICE agents stand quietly in the hallway, waiting for immigration court to finish. Once the hearings end, they’ll begin calling names — moving swiftly to detain those on their list.
Two court observers ride the elevator beside a man obscured from view — he’s hidden behind an ICE agent. The agents step in without saying a word. There is no announcement, no charge, no exchange. Only silence as the doors slide shut, but he's on their list.
ICE agents step into the elevator with a man on their list and a court observer beside him. The observer raises his hand, mid-argument, trying to push back or bear witness.
A man on ICE’s list steps into the elevator. Moments later, agents enter behind him without a word. There’s no announcement, no resistance — just the quiet closing of the doors. He will be detained.
An ICE agent leans against the wall, eyes heavy, shoulders slack. He’s waiting for court to let out — for the next name on the list.
The head ICE agent — small in stature, dressed in a hoodie — sucks on a lollipop as she stands at the center of the hallway. Press, court observers, and federal agents move around her. The image is quietly jarring: casual, almost childlike, amid the machinery of detention.
A young man stands alone in the back of a service elevator, surrounded by ICE agents in tactical gear. His hands are in front of him, his head slightly down. There is no struggle — just quiet compliance as the doors prepare to close.
Officers and a K9 unit patrol the elevator bank outside the immigration court.
A court sketch artist draws one of the ICE agents as he watches silently.
Three ICE agents lead a young girl toward the stairwell.
A young woman wearing a YALE sweatshirt is escorted down the hallway by ICE agents after her name is called. Her eyes are fixed forward, her body tense.
ICE agents line the hallway outside the immigration court, waiting for hearings to end. One leans casually against the wall in a shirt that reads “Dead Inside.” There’s laughter and quiet conversation — a moment of ease before detainments begin again.
A man walks beside an ICE agent after his court hearing, holding a folder of documents and his belongings. He looks down at his papers as the agent guides him down the hallway. He is on their list.
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer walks through the hallway in full tactical gear — face covered, vest armored, weapons and radio in place. His presence is unmistakable.
An ICE agent walks a man down the hallway after detaining him, his arm lightly gripped. A court clerk watches and an immigration attorney walks just behind. The system surrounds him — bureaucracy, legal counsel, enforcement — but none of it stops the arrest.
An ICE agent walks toward the camera.
A man is flanked by three ICE agents as he is escorted down the hallway — one at each arm, another following behind. The agents wear hoodies and tactical gear, their expressions obscured, while his is clear: defiant, composed.