AMNY – By Robert Pozarycki and Lloyd Mitchell | June 21, 2025

City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was back at 26 Federal Plaza Friday, three days after his arrest there, to once again observe court hearings for immigrants subject to immediate deportation by ICE.

Lander’s arrest and hours-long detainment on June 17 sparked backlash across the city and country. Gov. Kathy Hochul personally intervened in the matter, and the Department of Homeland Security — which initially claimed the comptroller had assaulted agents, despite video evidence to the contrary — released Lander without charges.

Undeterred, Lander returned to 26 Federal Plaza on June 20 to again observe and advocate for immigrants appearing for court-mandated hearings — which he said has evolved into “a deeply dehumanizing process.”

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Queens City Council Member Tiffany Cabán attended the observations with Lander along with Brooklyn City Council Member Shahana Hanif and Queens state Sen. Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas. Cabán noted that some of the judges at immigration court have been attempting to follow the law and act in the immigrants’ best interests, while other jurists have been acting more disrespectfully to the immigrants appearing before them and attempting to shun those seeking to observe the cases.

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