“No ICE Parking Here”: Dozens Protest Agency Outside NYC Immigration Court

Dozens of people met outside of 201 Varick St. on May 6 to protest the Department of Homeland Security’s search for parking spots in the neighborhood. Lining up along the building, protesters held posters mimicking no parking signs and chanted, “No hate, no fear, no ICE parking here.”

On April 21, DHS made public its search to secure 150 parking spots within a quarter mile of 201 Varick St., which houses one of the city’s immigration courts. Last year, several immigrants were reportedly detained at the building.

Currently, DHS vehicles park at Pier 40 as part of a contract with the Hudson River Park Trust. After the Trust received public backlash, it chose not to renew the contract, which terminates in June.

Though the official number of spots the department has at the pier is unknown and has been redacted from requests, a state government official told Sludge there are 35 spots. If the number is true, the department’s new request for 150 spots would reflect a significant increase.

One protestor, Marcelo Marcos Langari, worries that if DHS secures these spots, Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be able to operate more effectively. “We don’t want that,” Langari said. “We want ICE to be out of New York.”

The protest was a collaboration among several organizations, including Chelsea Neighbors United, Rise and Resist, and Village Independent Democrats. According to Julie DeLaurier, who helped organize Chelsea Neighbors United, this protest is the first of a larger campaign to prevent the increase of ICE vehicles in the area.

“They have no place in our community,” DeLaurier said. “They have no place in any community. What we’re saying is no parking for ICE, not here, not anywhere.”

According to the plan, the DHS is specifically searching for indoor parking spots for a mix of SUVs, mid-sized vans, and mini-buses through 2031. The department estimates the new contract will cost $5 million to $10 million. The organizations have plans if the department is successful in securing the parking spots.

“If any of these companies decide to do that, then we are going to pressure the wider community of drivers not to use their facilities,” said Jay W. Walker, who also helped organize Chelsea Neighbors United. “They might have city contracts as well as their contract with ICE, and so we will put pressure on the city government not to use their facilities.”

Earlier this year, Gov. Kathy Hochul met with President Donald Trump, who said he would not increase the number of ICE agents in the state without a request from Hochul, which she said she will never make. Instead, in April, Hochul proposed a plan to restrict ICE operations and expand the protection of immigrants.

If the proposal is enacted, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said he will sue Hochul. Blakeman, who is a Republican gubernatorial candidate, has called Hochul’s stance on immigration “a terrible mistake.”

The tension reflects the wider controversy resulting from the expansion of ICE operations across the country, which is a pillar of the Trump administration’s agenda. However, public opinion on the administration’s handling of the issue soured after escalations in Minneapolis that led to the shooting deaths of unarmed citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents.

Federal officials have since largely retreated from Minnesota, which is known for having strong local protesting. Organizers of the NYC protest say they are pulling from Minneapolis’ tactics.