Report Reveals ICE Entered New York Shelters Without Judicial Order

Agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) entered several shelters in New York on at least five occasions between January and May of this year without a judicial order and were granted access, according to shelter incident reports published today by the 'Gothamist' newspaper.

According to the reports, on two occasions, shelter employees allowed ICE agents to enter private areas. In a third instance, they provided agents with information about a former resident without verifying if they had a judicial order, in violation of the law that declared New York an immigrant-friendly or "sanctuary" city.

In two other cases, immigration agents bypassed reception staff and entered private areas of municipal shelters without presenting a warrant.

The sanctuary law prohibits municipal employees from authorizing federal immigration agents to enter private areas of city properties, with few exceptions—such as if they present a judicial order or in "exceptional circumstances," the newspaper notes.

The publication adds that the Department of Social Services, responsible for the vast majority of shelters, stated that its staff "never" deliberately violated protocol or the law, which Mayor Eric Adams attempted to abolish when the city began receiving thousands of immigrants each week.

Immigration agents visited shelters at least 23 times during the period from January to May this year, five of these without legal authorization. On February 20, seven agents wearing masks, camouflage clothing, bulletproof vests, and armed with pistols arrested a 30-year-old Venezuelan man, according to the incident report.

The executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, Murad Awawdeh, reacted to the report by stating that no New Yorker should be "terrorized" by President Donald Trump's ICE when accessing city services, especially when sanctuary laws prohibit it, as it erodes trust in agencies.

"The City Council must urgently pass the Safe Sanctuary Act and the City Trust Act to strengthen our commitment to protecting all New Yorkers and address any existing legal loopholes," the activist stated.

According to Awawdeh, when the next mayor, Zohran Mamdani, takes office next month, there must be a firm commitment to enforce sanctuary laws and rigorously train all municipal staff on how to implement them.