ICE and BOP Confine NYIC President and Congressional Representatives During Oversight Visit

Strategic Insights -

A group of prominent officials, including Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), were confined by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Bureau of Prisons (BOP) officers during an oversight visit to the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn. The officials, including U.S. Representatives Adriano Espaillat, Nydia Velazquez, and Dan Goldman, were conducting an inspection of the facility, where over 100 Caribbean and other immigrants are being detained under a new ICE-BOP agreement. The confinement was allegedly a result of the prison going on lockdown after the officials' arrival, preventing them from leaving and blocking legal counsel from reaching detained individuals.

Key Takeaways:

  • Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), was confined by ICE and BOP officers during an oversight visit to the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn.
  • The visit was conducted with U.S. Representatives Adriano Espaillat, Nydia Velazquez, and Dan Goldman, and was intended to inspect the facility, where over 100 Caribbean and other immigrants are being detained under a new ICE-BOP agreement.
  • The officials were allegedly intentionally locked in and not permitted to leave, preventing them from conducting their inspection and blocking legal counsel from reaching detained individuals.
  • The MDC has a history of inhumane conditions, including medical neglect, abuse, severe understaffing, and extreme temperatures, which have resulted in multiple inmate deaths.
  • The NYIC and its Congressional representatives are demanding an end to the illegal detentions, abductions of immigrant New Yorkers at courthouses and on the streets, and an end to the mass deportation agenda of the Trump administration.

Statistics:

  • Number of Caribbean and other immigrants detained at the MDC: over 100
  • Number of inmate deaths at the MDC due to inhumane conditions: multiple
  • Time spent by the officials confined in the MDC: over 30 minutes
  • Number of times Yeonsoo Go was detained by ICE agents despite following proper legal process: 1 (detained at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan at a routine court hearing)
  • Number of days Yeonsoo Go spent in ICE custody: 5 days

Sources:

  • [i] The New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) statement, "ICE and BOP Confine NYIC President and Congressional Representatives During Oversight Visit"
  • [ii] Murad Awawdeh statement to the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC)
  • [iii] NYIC press release, "NYIC Calls for an End to All Arrests of Caribbean and Other Immigrants Attending US Immigration Courts by ICE Officers"