❓WHAT HAPPENED: A federal court ordered President Donald J. Trump’s administration to improve detention conditions for illegal immigrants at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Manhattan.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Trump administration, Bill Clinton-appointed U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan, illegal immigrant plaintiff Sergio Alberto Barco Mercado, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
📍WHEN & WHERE: The order was issued on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, in New York.
💬KEY QUOTE: “They are also being subjected to unsanitary and unsafe conditions, sleeping for days or weeks on a concrete floor with only an aluminum blanket, often with insufficient space to even lie down, often sleeping near the toilets.” — Attorney Heather Gregorio.
🎯IMPACT: Juge Kaplan has given the Trump administration until August 26 to comply, though he also indicated he may move forward with a broader restraining order and injunction against the White House if he certifies a class for class action before then.
A federal court ordered President Donald J. Trump‘s administration to improve detention conditions for illegal immigrants at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Manhattan, New York, late Tuesday. The ruling stems from a lawsuit brought by a Peruvian illegal immigrant who alleges detainees are held in cramped conditions.
The order, issued by U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan—a Bill Clinton appointee who also presided over the E. Jean Carroll defamation trial against President Donald J. Trump—stipulates that ICE must provide each detainee held overnight with a bedding mat and ensure that toilets are cleaned three times a day. Additionally, Judge Kaplan ordered that ICE must allow detainees to make a private phone call with their attorney within 24 hours of detention and that they be given an information sheet that informs them they can request bottles of water and an extra meal, among other amenities.
Juge Kaplan has given the Trump administration until August 26 to comply, though he also indicated he may move forward with a broader restraining order and injunction against the White House if he certifies a class for class action before then. Notably, the only plaintiff—at the moment—is Sergio Alberto Barco Mercado, an illegal immigrant from Peru, and his main gripe appears to be that between 40 and 90 detainees are forced to share a handful of toilets. Notably, paying airline passengers experience a similar ratio of person-to-toilet access—or worse.
“They are also being subjected to unsanitary and unsafe conditions, sleeping for days or weeks on a concrete floor with only an aluminum blanket, often with insufficient space to even lie down, often sleeping near the toilets,” Barco Mercado’s attorney, Heather Gregorio, complained during the hearing.
The Trump administration argued that ICE follows federal legal standards but conceded that it was working to increase hygiene access for detainees regardless.
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