ICE Agents Entered NYC Hospitals

Mayor Zohran Mamdani released a city audit on May 22 that found Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers entered New York City hospitals, shelters and other city buildings while agencies followed inconsistent or incomplete protocols. The report said federal immigration arrests in the New York City area rose to 5,567 between January 20, 2025, and March 10, 2026, a 71% increase from the comparable period at the end of President Joe Biden’s administration. City Hall said the review covered policies at agencies including Health + Hospitals, the Department of Social Services, the Department of Correction and the New York Police Department. Mamdani said the city would adopt the audit’s recommendations “in the coming months” to strengthen protections for immigrant New Yorkers. ### Which city agencies were reviewed? The May 22 report said the audit was ordered under Executive Order 13, which Mamdani signed in February, and it examined how city agencies interact with federal immigration authorities. City Hall said the agencies covered by the audit included the Administration for Children’s Services, the Department of Correction, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Department of Probation, the Department of Social Services, the NYPD and NYC Health + Hospitals. (nyc.gov) New York City Public Schools conducted a separate internal review outside the formal audit process, the mayor’s office said. ### What did the audit say about ICE activity in city spaces? The audit said federal immigration authorities had intensified their targeting of city shelters, increased detainer requests to the Department of Correction and the NYPD, and used what the mayor’s office called “increasingly aggressive and misleading tactics.” The report also said local laws and agency protocols had “largely worked as intended,” while identifying gaps that required stronger rules as federal enforcement changed. (nyc.gov) Patch, citing the audit, reported that ICE agents entered hospitals and other city buildings without proper protocols and repeatedly entered shelters. ### What is the 71% figure based on? The audit said ICE arrested 5,567 people in the New York City area between January 20, 2025, and March 10, 2026. That total was 71% higher than during the same number of days at the end of the previous administration, according to the report. Reuters reported that more than half of those arrests took place at immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan. (nyc.gov) ### What examples did the report include? The audit cited reporting about at least 15 people arrested in one day in 2025 at routine ICE check-ins at the agency’s Lower Manhattan office on Elk Street. The report described a home health aide from Guyana being arrested by masked agents and a mother and child being led out in handcuffs. The report said such episodes reflected an “evolving” federal enforcement approach that city agencies had to address through clearer procedures. (nyc.gov) ### How is City Hall responding? Mamdani said on May 22 that “no one should live in fear because of their status” and called the audit a step toward stronger compliance with local laws. Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Faiza N. Ali said the findings would strengthen agency protocols for interactions with federal authorities and help ensure immigrants can safely access city services. Reuters said the report included more than two dozen recommendations, including a review of emails between Department of Correction officials and ICE and ending daily reports to ICE on the national origin of some non-citizens in custody when not required by law. (nyc.gov) ### What comes next for the city’s rules? City Hall said the recommendations will be implemented in the coming months, with agencies updating protocols that govern access to city property and interactions with federal immigration officers. The mayor’s office said the review was designed to strengthen protections for immigrant New Yorkers as enforcement patterns shift. Guidance for residents on encounters with ICE remains posted through the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. (nyc.gov)