Congressman Dan Goldman faces off with a masked ICE agent inside 26 Federal Plaza.
Photograph by Dean Moses
U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman has emerged as an immigration rights advocate since ICE brokers started seizing the hallways of immigration courtroom in 2025, and within the aftermath, he has proposed a minimum of 5 new payments to halt what he cites as an un-American assault on New Yorkers.
Throughout a one-on-one interview with New York News, talking on the laws, Goldman shared that his grandmother escaped from antisemitism in Russia and immigrated to the USA, arriving within the Huge Apple by Ellis Island.
“People have always sought refuge here from terrible conditions elsewhere, and that’s why people want to come here to pursue the American dream, and the idea that this administration is trying to shut down immigration of all kinds, regardless of the circumstances, regardless of whether or not these people are being persecuted at home, regardless of whether they’re law abiding or not, or whether they’re children or not, is so offensive to me,” Goldman mentioned.
After nearly a 12 months of violent detainments inside 26 Federal Plaza and 290 Broadway, a bombshell courtroom submitting appeared to point out that ICE allegedly by no means had authority to arrest immigrants within the courthouse to start with, calling the entire arrests and subsequent deportation into query, violating Goldman’s advocacy.
“For nearly a year, ICE has intentionally violated its own policy and the law by arresting immigrants at immigration courthouses, and then engaging in a massive cover-up. Now that we know the truth — that thousands of ICE arrests around the country should never have taken place — those responsible for allowing these arrests must be held accountable. I have demanded a response from DHS and will ensure that this administration is held responsible for their reckless and lawless targeting of immigrants trying to follow the immigration laws,” Goldman added.
U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman makes a shock go to to the tenth ground of 26 Federal Plaza .Photograph by Dean Moses
Earlier than this grew to become obvious, Goldman mentioned in an effort to face as much as the bullying, he proposed a slew of laws to control, unmask, and to forestall detainments inside courtroom homes.
This contains the Actual Courts, Rule of Legislation Act, which might set up an impartial immigration courtroom system below Article I of the Structure to make sure immigration judges and immigrants are not on the direct mercy of the president.
The ICE OUT Act would considerably restrict the variety of circumstances through which ICE brokers would qualify for immunity. The Immigration Court docket Due Course of Safety Act is aiming to guard immigrants who’re pursuing lawful pathways and attending their necessary immigration courtroom hearings from being focused.
The final two acts are dubbed Upholding Protections for Unaccompanied Youngsters Act, which appears to safeguard weak immigrant youngsters fleeing violence by guaranteeing they don’t seem to be prevented from in search of asylum as a result of prohibitive charges imposed by what Goldman known as Trump’s “Big Ugly Bill.”
The No Secret Police Act would ban ICE brokers from sporting masks throughout immigration arrests, guaranteeing members of legislation enforcement can not stay nameless.
Goldman instructed New York News that whereas these items of laws have help from many Democrats in Congress, he says he has not seen a single colleague from throughout the aisle again the payments.
“I don’t believe a single Republican has sponsored a single one of these bills. The Republicans in Congress have completely abandoned their responsibility to provide oversight or conduct oversight or be a check and balance on this administration’s immigration policy, and they are complicit in allowing the administration to terrorize our cities and our country, and it goes far beyond just immigrants themselves,” Goldman fumed. “It’s broad communities that are being affected by this. It’s small businesses that are being affected because people are not going out to frequent them as much anymore. It is schools that are losing students and parishioners because people are so afraid of even just going outside of their house.”
The congress members got here face-to-face with masked Feds who lined the halls, ready for his or her targets. Goldman himself demanded to see the badge of 1 agent who unzipped his sweatshirt to disclose a golden emblem.Photograph by Dean Moses
Goldman additionally pushed again on what he known as the hypocrisy of Republicans who’ve demanded that protesters be stripped of sporting masks whereas supporting Federal Brokers doing the identical.
“This administration really cracked down on protesters wearing masks on university campuses. They were very aggressively against that, and then to turn around and say: Oh, well, the protesters can’t wear masks, but government agents can wear masks, is so hypocritical and preposterous, and it’s an obvious double standard,” he mentioned.
Along with proposing the legal guidelines, over the past 12 months, Goldman has labored with immigrant rights advocate Fabian Arias of Saint Peter’s Church and his group to determine what he refers to as a triage middle inside his workplace for households impacted by ICE detention. Over the numerous months since that partnership started, some 30 immigrants have been launched from ICE detention due to courtroom filings.
“We’re able to have a much larger coordination effort that helps the families of immigrants who are going through a traumatic situation, and also helps those who have been improperly, unnecessarily and in some cases inhumanely detained, actually get out, reunite with their families, continue to work as many of them do, and wait for their asylum claims to be resolved,” Goldman mentioned. “Its rewarding that families have been reunited.”
US Rep. Dan Goldman faces off with an ICE agent.Photograph by Dean Moses
