Federal authorities have detained over 100 immigrants in the New York City area as part of a multi-agency sweep, sparking concerns about lack of access to legal aid and transparency. The detainees are being held at various facilities, including Orange County jail and the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania.
While some details about the detentions remain unclear, local lawyers say they are struggling to locate many of those arrested, and fear the situation will worsen as the Trump administration begins shipping people to far-off sites. Typically, detainees in New York City are sent to Orange County jail or Moshannon Valley Processing Center, but lawyers note that some facilities have been temporarily barred from providing assistance due to a stop-work order issued by the Department of Justice.
The lack of communication from ICE has left local Democrats, including Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, out of the loop. The agency’s Special Agent in Charge, Frank Tarentino, acknowledged that the joint-agency teams target violent, illegal criminals but also may encounter people with immigration status issues. However, he declined to provide a breakdown on how many arrests were made for underlying criminal offenses versus civil immigration violations.
Migrants detained by ICE are first sent to an arraignment-type court hearing in lower Manhattan before being transferred to other facilities. The Trump administration has vowed to ship undocumented immigrants to Guantanamo Bay and mega jails in El Salvador, raising concerns about the lack of access to basic programs and medical care for those in detention.
Source: https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/02/05/ice-arrests-trump-immigrant-crackdown