Is 26 Federal Plaza a detention facility?
A LOT IN A NAME: How the Trump administration classifies the Lower Manhattan space where migrants are being held is key to whether House members are permitted inside to conduct oversight.
It's a detention center, according to congressional Democrats, migrants and their advocates.
It's a processing center, say Department of Homeland Security officials.
Reps. Nydia Velázquez, Adriano Espaillat, Dan Goldman and Jerry Nadler are considering their options for recourse after being repeatedly denied access to the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza.
Those House Democrats are legally authorized as members of Congress to make unannounced inspections of 'detention facilities holding individuals in federal immigration custody.' They want to confirm for themselves the reports of overcrowding and lack of meals for migrants awaiting deportation proceedings. Why stop them from visiting if there's nothing to see, the lawmakers have argued.
Their roadblock has been the Trump administration's claim that the space isn't a detention facility in the first place.
Today, new videos surreptitiously captured what Espaillat has called the 'notorious 10th floor.' They showed about two dozen migrants crowded into a room, some sleeping on the floor. The videos were released by the New York Immigration Coalition and first reported by THE CITY.
'Since May, ICE has been snatching New Yorkers off the streets and out of immigration court and taking them to this floor,' Velázquez said in a statement. 'They've claimed it's not a detention facility, just a 'processing center,' to block members of Congress from exercising our legal right to conduct oversight.'
DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin reiterated the distinction in a statement today and called reports of subprime conditions 'categorically false.'
'26 Federal Plaza is not a detention center,' she said. 'It is (a) processing center where illegal aliens are briefly processed to be transferred to an ICE detention facility.'
In Washington today, Goldman heard testimony from a Bronx Defenders representative who described migrants being held at 26 Federal Plaza — an administrative building — for days or even weeks with limited access to food, medical care and legal counsel and with so little space that they must sleep sitting up.
'The law requires Congress members to be given access unannounced to any facility that is detaining or otherwise housing immigrants,' Goldman responded. 'And certainly what you just described of your clients remaining there for days and days would seem to satisfy the plain language of being detained or otherwise housed.'
Playbook was with Velázquez and Espaillat last week as they tried to tour the 10th floor. They were sent away without access.
'The 10th Floor detention facility must be shut down immediately and regularly inspected to ensure that ICE adheres to federal guidelines as mandated by law,' Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigration Coalition, said in a statement. — Emily Ngo
FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
NARCISSE-ISM: Campaign finance regulators slapped City Council Member Mercedes Narcisse with more than $30,000 in penalties for spending above the limit and for pocketing an extra $1,744 in leftover campaign funds.
The Brooklyn Democrat reported spending $14,000 over the $190,000 limit in the 2021 primary, the New York City Campaign Finance Board found in an audit. After the 2021 race ended, Narcisse's campaign also withdrew the remaining $1,744 from her account, which the board interpreted as 'converting campaign funds to personal use.'
The board finalized its audit nearly four years after the race. Narcisse won comfortably in 2021, was reelected in 2023 and is all but guaranteed to win again in November.
The $30,244 total penalty is particularly large for a council race. Council Member Rita Joseph was hit with a $1,316 penalty Tuesday, for example, while many members avoid penalities all together.
The board declined to comment beyond the brief summary released today. 'The issues raised stem from poor record-keeping and gross mismanagement by a former treasurer,' Narcisse said in a statement. 'There was no intentional misuse of funds,' she added, saying she's strengthened internal controls and has run her subsequent campaigns without issues. — Jeff Coltin
SPARRING WITH STEPHEN A: Eric Adams and Andrew Cuomo's fight for support from Black voters in the mayoral race is playing out on podcasts.
During an interview last week on Stephen A. Smith's pod, Adams accused Cuomo of having a history of undermining Black Democratic candidates — Carl McCall in the 2002 race for governor, Charlie King in the 2006 state attorney general campaign and David Paterson in 2010.
'He has a history when it comes down to Black elected officials,' Adams told Smith. 'I'm not calling him a racist. He has a problem against Black men.'
Cuomo, who rebooted his campaign this month after losing to Zohran Mamdani in the June Democratic primary, pushed back. He noted that McCall and Paterson have endorsed his bid for mayor. And King, a longtime confidant, helped run his mayoral primary campaign.
'If somebody has a problem with Black leadership, Black men, because none of them support him,' Cuomo told Smith in a Monday podcast. 'Desperate people say desperate things.'
The dustup underscores the need for Adams and Cuomo to get the other man out of the race. The mayor and former governor share an overlapping base that includes Black voters.
Adams, the city's second Black mayor, has insisted he will remain in the race as Cuomo urges the field to consolidate behind the strongest candidate to defeat Mamdani in the general election.
The former governor has placed a strong second to the 33-year-old democratic socialist in polls. — Nick Reisman
FROM CITY HALL
ICE AND ADAMS: Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday he agreed with the Department of Homeland Security secretary's criticism of New York's sanctuary city policies after an officer was shot by an undocumented immigrant Saturday night.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem heavily criticized the Adams administration Monday, saying the two men charged with the shooting had been arrested multiple times before and each had deportation orders against them.
The mayor, who's in the midst of an uphill reelection campaign, said he's long aligned with the sentiments of the top Trump aide.
'I've been almost a lone voice in this city talking about this, that we need to examine parts of our laws that allow extremely dangerous people to go in and out of our criminal justice system,' Adams said at a Tuesday press conference.
He was also quick to blame New York's sanctuary city laws and their proponents in the City Council for the alleged perpetrators moving in and out of city custody without ICE cooperation.
'The City Council has been clear that they have no intention to look at this, and I think it's unfortunate,' Adams said. 'It places everyday documented and undocumented New Yorkers in jeopardy.' — Amira McKee
IN OTHER NEWS
— CITY-OWNED GROCERIES: Mamdani's call for city-owned grocery stores has become a hot-button issue for his supporters and critics, but both sides forget that New York City already has six. (Gothamist)
— FOREIGN DEBT: Comptroller Brad Lander allowed long-time investments in Israeli government bonds to lapse, a move he says aimed to equalize the city's treatment of foreign debt. His critics say he furthered the 'Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions' campaign. (THE CITY)
— CLIMATE LAW CHALLENGES: Compliance with the city's Local Law 97 will be much more difficult as a key tax credit for solar panels goes away. (Crain's New York Business)
Missed this morning's New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.
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USA Today
25 minutes ago
- USA Today
Republicans, Democrats are held captive by extremes. Americans need a new party.
Does America need a viable third political party? Republicans and Democrats alike sound off – and actually agreed on something – in our latest Opinion Forum. In June – which yes, feels like a lifetime ago – billionaire and former first buddy Elon Musk began floating the idea of an "America Party" on the social media platform he's colonized. Originally a response to President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Musk viewed as an "insane spending bill," this new third party would "actually represent the 80% in the middle" and give voters back their "freedom." It's an interesting idea – and not necessarily new. America, as we're reminded every general election, does have more than two political parties, but those splintered factions rarely result in anything of consequence. Instead, our politics are an endless ping-pong match between Republicans and Democrats – which many Americans increasingly view as two sides of the same coin. So is a true multiparty system the way forward? And is Musk, as divisive as he is, the one to lead it? Those were some of the questions we asked USA TODAY readers for our latest Forum. We heard people from each political party and found some surprising consensus. Read their responses below. A third party isn't enough. America needs an entirely new system. America doesn't just need a third party – it needs a full-spectrum awakening. The system we're living in isn't just outdated ‒ it's misaligned with the reality of who we are today. Tradition has its place, but clinging to it out of habit keeps us locked into patterns that no longer serve us. The problems we face now are wildly different from those of the past, so why are we still trying to solve them with yesterday's blueprints? We need more than another political faction; we need a radical reimagining of how representation works. For too long, our politics have been stuck in black-and-white thinking: left or right, red or blue, us versus them. The idea that one person – usually male, usually from a singular political perspective – can fully represent an entire nation is outdated. Lived experience matters. And no matter how well-intentioned he may be, a man cannot truly fight for women the way a woman can. The same goes in reverse. Each brings something vital to the table, and that's why America needs more than just a third party – it needs a shared leadership model. Your Turn: President Trump, I supported you. Release the Epstein list – or resign. | Opinion Forum Imagine a presidency not defined by solo power but co-led by two individuals with contrasting yet complementary identities ‒ say, a woman and a man from different ideological spaces. Together, they could challenge groupthink, broaden empathy and offer layered approaches to complex issues. Conflict wouldn't be avoided ‒ it'd be used as a strength to build deeper solutions. Our most marginalized voices wouldn't be tokens ‒ they'd have champions on both sides. Sure, this idea may cause some readers to flip their lids. But history has shown us that progress doesn't come wrapped in comfort. It comes when someone says 'What if?' and dares to sketch it out loud. As for Elon Musk? He didn't build with a brain ‒ he built with money. He footed bills and took credit. He couldn't hold a thought together or support his own child for being themselves. That's not genius. That's cowardice. Power without empathy is a threat, not a solution. We don't need leaders who smile for the cameras while people suffer. We need firewalls, not figureheads. If you can't fight for people without cash behind them, you don't get to represent any of us. The Republican Party is consumed by extremism and fear tactics. The Democratic Party is fractured and too often indecisive. Both chase headlines while families struggle, health care costs explode and trust erodes. Neither party centers everyday people, and that's the core failure. — Kayleisha Miller, Coal Township, Pennsylvania Our political parties have been lost to oligarchs. We need a shake-up. We need a viable third party to shake up the status quo. Both the Republican and Democratic parties are being held hostage by the extreme right and left of their parties. We need a party that is not beholden to American oligarchs. It needs to govern with common sense and realize that compromise is not a four-letter word. As a nation, we used to value these traits. Now it's a take-no-hostage era. Do you want to take part in our next Forum? Join the conversation by emailing forum@ You can also follow us on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and sign up for our Opinion newsletter to stay updated on future Forum posts. Musk is one of the oligarchs of the United States. He is a businessman whose sole raison d'être is to make a profit. One cannot run a nation like one runs a company. Both parties are being held captive by the extreme right and left wings of their parties. The Democrats have lost their focus on the issues that mean the most to the people. They have forgotten who the working people are in this nation. They need to realize people don't want a cradle-to-grave nanny state. The Republicans have come under the spell of authoritarian governance. As much as they profess to care about the working people, they care more about the American oligarchs. — Paul Tonello, Sparks, Nevada If we had better people in power, two parties would be enough. But we don't. If there were representatives who would vote to represent the people who elected them on different issues, rather than always being in lockstep, a two-party system works very well. A multiparty system that requires different coalitions on different issues would work better than what is happening in Congress. I believe that fiscal responsibility, compassion for those in need, smaller government and stewardship of national assets would win the greatest coalition's vote. Musk's resources are important, but getting moderates from each party to be involved would be more important. Also, getting more people who are not currently involved in politics could make it very powerful. Neither party is doing anything to make the future better for our children and grandchildren. I wish we had good people instead of people who thrive on power and ego. — LaMar Stephenson, Spanish Fork, Utah It's a matter of when, not if, a third party will emerge in America The existing two-party system limits the people's choices. They coexist in a symbiotic relationship. Much like defense and plaintiff attorneys. They need each other to exist. Loyalty among the members is first to their respective party, not the Constitution. In my sphere of connections across all of America, I have yet to meet a person who does not believe a third party is a necessity. It is my belief that the time of a two-party system has passed. A new political system is a necessity. If we have a third option, more fiscally conservative and socially moderate, this country will be better served. When, not if, this happens, the legacy parties might wake up and realize they have lost touch with the American system. It is incumbent on the news media, which has also polarized, to begin an honest reporting of this movement. A third party should be fiscally conservative and socially moderate, protecting the future of America and not buying votes by borrowing from the future. The youth of America will wake up and align with a new model. Musk has the resources to overcome the start-up challenges of a viable third party. He has clearly shown his commitment to improving government and its misdirected leadership. But he is not the person to lead the party. We need a charismatic younger leader who comes from the heartland, has been in the actual world and served his country. Service in the military is important. It's too easy to place young Americans in harm's way when they have not also made that choice. Look at how few elected officials have served or have children in service. Service can take many forms that reflect their passion for serving the United States. The two parties exist to support each other. Loyalty by their members is to the party, not the country. Congress demands this loyalty. Leadership punishes those with loyalty to country above party. — Bob Jones, Dadeville, Alabama We need a political party that isn't beholden to the rich The present political parties are beholden to the rich. We need a party that also hears the people. A better party would focus on middle-class needs, education, helping college kids with their future, present and past college bills. It would focus on the environment and upholding and advancing the ideals of the Declaration of Independence: life, liberty the pursuit of happiness and equality for all. We need a party that has a little nuance on issues and looks for ways to solve problems with compromise. Our young people need affordable housing. Medical care should not be tied to employment. And we need to restore the sense of community that we have lost in some places ‒ a sense that there is something greater than me. Musk is not the person to lead a third party. He has done too much damage by reelecting President Donald Trump and with DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency. I suppose his money could be useful. The Republican Party is firmly under the control of Trump. He is corrupt, cruel and embraces chaos. The GOP should be renamed the CCCP. Most of the Democratic leaders do not know how to resist Trump. There needs to be a moral rebirth in our nation. Many are morally blind to Trump and his actions. Who are we? What does it mean to be an American? What is right and wrong? Many are under the influence of conspiracy theories and do not realize that they are being played for money. — Rick Jones, Mount Gilead, Ohio You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter.
USA Today
25 minutes ago
- USA Today
Trump isn't gutting Medicaid and food stamps. He's fixing our broken welfare system.
President Donald Trump has preserved the core of the safety net for the truly vulnerable. He and his fellow Republicans are helping millions of able-bodied adults leave welfare and find work. It's a simple question with an obvious answer: Should Americans work as a condition of receiving welfare? More than two-thirds of Americans respond with a resounding yes. But while the principle of the matter and popular opinion are clear, our country's welfare system has been a muddled mess for decades. The biggest welfare program − Medicaid − has been disconnected from helping its 84.6 million recipients find work. And while the food stamps program technically has work requirements, they're inconsistently enforced for the 42 million people who benefit from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The result: Tens of millions of people, especially able-bodied adults, have been trapped in government dependency. But they deserve the chance to become self-sufficient. They deserve to fully share in our country's progress. And they deserve to shape that progress while pursuing their own American dream. Trump is fixing broken welfare system That is why President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act is so important. The president and Republicans in Congress have started to fundamentally fix America's broken welfare system. They're finally connecting welfare to work. Your Turn: Medicaid handouts only create dependency. Able-bodied adults should work. | Opinion Forum Unfortunately, many Americans haven't heard this side of the story. They've been told − by virtually every politician on the left as well as a few loud voices on the right − that Trump and his fellow Republicans are gutting the safety net that vulnerable Americans need. Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, the president has preserved the core of the safety net for the truly vulnerable. He and his fellow Republicans are helping millions of able-bodied adults leave welfare and find work. That's the point of the safety net: to support people who've fallen on hard times, then help them move on to better times. It was never meant to be a hammock. Yet that's what it has become, trapping millions of people in generational dependency. Trump's welfare reforms are righting this wrong. To start, Medicaid now has its first federal work requirement in history. Able-bodied adults without children as well as those without young kids will now be required to work at least part time to keep receiving Medicaid. Will Trump's big bill kill people? Here's the truth about Medicaid cuts. | Opinion That is common sense. Medicaid was created to help the neediest people in society get health care. It wasn't intended to cover healthy adults who are capable of working but choose not to. It's good for them, and all of America, if they find jobs and raise their incomes. The same is true for food stamps. The president and Congress are closing loopholes that have allowed able-bodied adults to avoid work requirements. They've also put states on the financial hook for giving food stamps to those who aren't eligible. These reforms will help millions of people find work and boost their incomes. That's good for them and the rest of society. Work requirements will help people living in poverty Those who criticize these commonsense reforms aren't just missing the point. They're missing something profoundly American. We should want our fellow citizens to find good jobs, earn more income and put themselves on the path to everything from buying a car to buying a home. That's the ticket to a life of fulfillment − to the American dream. But we shouldn't want people to stay on welfare with no strings attached, especially able-bodied adults. We should want them to lead better lives. And we should believe in their incredible potential and innate ability to improve their lives. Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. Trump's welfare reforms are grounded in this deeply American principle. They will move millions of people from welfare to work, transforming lives in powerful ways. Virtually everyone intuitively understands that this is a good thing for everyone, including those on welfare and those of us who pay for it. The real question is why some politicians and pundits think it's bad to empower people on welfare to rise through work. Hayden Dublois is data and analytics director at the Foundation for Government Accountability. You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter.
San Francisco Chronicle
25 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Confronted by crises, Philippine president delivers state of the nation speech
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is delivering his state of the nation speech while confronting diverse crises midway through his six-year term, including recent deadly storms with more than 120,000 people encamped in emergency shelters, turbulent ties with the vice president and escalating territorial disputes with Beijing in the South China Sea. About 22,000 policemen were deployed Monday to secure the House of Representatives complex in suburban Quezon city in the capital region before Marcos' address to both chambers of Congress, top government and military officials and diplomats. Thousands of protesters staged rallies to highlight a wide range of demands from higher wages due to high inflation to the immediate impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte over a raft of alleged crimes. Marcos' rise to power in mid-2022, more than three decades after an army-backed 'People Power' revolt overthrew his father from office and into global infamy, was one of the most dramatic political comebacks. But he inherited a wide range of problems, including an economy that was one of the worst-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, which worsened poverty, unemployment, inflation and hunger. His whirlwind political alliance with Duterte rapidly floundered and she and her family, including her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, became her harshest critics. The former president was arrested in March in a chaotic scene at Manila's international airport and flown to be detained by the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands for an alleged crime against humanity over his deadly anti-drugs crackdowns while still in power. Sara Duterte became the first vice president of the Philippines to be impeached in February by the House of Representatives, which is dominated by Marcos' allies, over a range of criminal allegations including largescale corruption and publicly threatening to have the president, his wife and Romualdez killed by an assassin if she herself were killed during her disputes with them. The Supreme Court ruled Friday that the impeachment case was unconstitutional due to a key procedural technicality, hampering Duterte's expected trial in the Senate, which has convened as an impeachment tribunal. House legislators said they were planning to appeal the decision. Unlike his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, who nurtured cozy ties with China and Russia, Marcos broadened his country's treaty alliance with the United States and started to deepen security alliances with Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada France and other Western governments to strengthen deterrence against increasingly aggressive actions by China in the disputed South Chin Sea. That stance has strained relations between Manila and Beijing. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said the Marcos administration would continue to shift the military's role from battling a weakening communist insurgency to focusing on external defense, specially in the disputed South China Sea, a vital global trade route where confrontations between Chinese and Philippine coast guard and naval forces have intensified in recent years. 'The president's statements were, we would be unyielding and resistant to Chinese aggression in the West Philippines Sea,' Teodoro said in an interview by the ABS-CBN TV network, using the Philippine name for the stretch of disputed waters off the western Philippine coast. 'We've been gearing up towards that mission.' After returning to Manila, Marcos traveled to an evacuation center outside Manila to help distribute food and other aid to villagers displaced by back-to-back storms and days of monsoon downpours that have flooded vast stretches of the main northern Luzon region, including Manila.
