Federal immigration authorities have quietly more than doubled the number of immigrants held inside the Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, shifting dozens of people into two cell blocks at the federal jail. The move has already sparked new legal filings and a congressional inspection as advocates warn that the facility’s history of lockdowns, understaffing and medical delays makes it a risky place to hold civil immigration detainees.
ICE Expands Footprint Inside MDC
ICE has roughly doubled its presence at MDC, with agency officials telling reporters that 191 people were being held there as of Wednesday afternoon after transfers into two cell blocks that together hold 248. The Bureau of Prisons lists the facility’s overall capacity at about 1,300. The transfers began last summer and have picked up in recent weeks as ICE tapped Bureau of Prisons-managed space under a new interagency arrangement, a shift that advocates say was not fully disclosed to local lawmakers, according to reporting in THE CITY.
MDC’s Troubled Record
The Metropolitan Detention Center has for years been flagged by judges, attorneys and watchdogs for dangerous conditions, including frequent lockdowns, chronic understaffing and persistent problems getting timely medical care. Local coverage and prior reporting that detailed inadequate staffing and inhumane conditions describe lawsuits and interviews alleging inedible food and repeated lockdowns, while Gothamist notes that the Bureau of Prisons confirmed an interagency agreement allowing ICE to place migrants at MDC. Both outlets have previously highlighted the facility’s staffing and medical problems.
Elected Officials Demand Answers
Local lawmakers and immigrant-rights groups say the transfers demand immediate scrutiny. Representative Dan Goldman has pressed the Bureau of Prisons for details on the arrangement and asked the agency to explain how the transfers affect staffing and access to counsel, while state elected officials and advocates have publicly urged ICE to stop using MDC for civil immigration detention. See the letter and oversight demands posted by Rep. Dan Goldman’s office and statements from state lawmakers, with the New York State Senate noting similar concerns.
Legal Filings And Access To Counsel
Advocates are also turning to the courts. Make the Road New York filed a habeas petition on behalf of a detainee at MDC, and a judge ordered that person’s release the same day, according to reporting that first detailed the filings and the on-the-ground transfers, as reported by THE CITY.
People facing immigration removal proceedings are not guaranteed court-appointed lawyers, a structural reality that advocates say makes rapid transfers and shortened windows to contact counsel especially dangerous. Local analyses and city reports have repeatedly called for expanded funding for legal representation and stronger protections for detained immigrants, including in an analysis by the NYC Comptroller that examined detention and representation challenges.
ICE and the Bureau of Prisons did not provide new public comment beyond earlier statements about the interagency agreement. The ICE facility page lists contact and legal-access information for family members and attorneys. Advocates say they will continue filing habeas petitions and pressing judges and members of Congress to inspect conditions until transfers are halted or independent oversight is in place. For facility contact details see ICE, and for additional background on the transfers see prior coverage from CBS New York.
