Several migrants were arrested – as was a Queens pastor who tried to intervene – when federal agents descended on a federal immigration courthouse in Lower Manhattan Wednesday afternoon, according to a report.
About two dozen masked, plainclothes officers gathered Wednesday afternoon in the lobby of 26 Federal Plaza, where they corralled at least six migrants and the pastor, The City reported.
The six men and one woman were spotted as agents carted them — some in handcuffs — back into an elevator they had just come out of, the outlet reported.
Independent reporter Talia Jane tweeted that as many as 11 were detained, including a family with small children.
The officers used either print-outs of the migrants’ faces or images on their phones to help identify them, according to The City.
Migrants often visit the building for check-ins with ICE and court dates with US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The intervening pastor, who was not immediately identified, was subsequently released, according to Talia Jane.
Representatives from ICE did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for details on the arrests.
But spokesperson Marie Ferguson told The City that the operation was in line with the Trump administration’s push for “expedited removal” of those who had illegally entered the country over the last two years under the Biden administration.
“ICE is now following the law and placing these illegal aliens in expedited removal, as they always should have been,” Ferguson said. “If they have a valid credible fear claim, they will continue in immigration proceedings, but if no valid claim is found, aliens will be subject to a swift deportation.”
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