Judge Says ICE Can Continue to Ban Toothbrushes at NYC Immigration Lock-Up

A judge says ICE can ban toothbrushes at 26 Federal Plaza even though they’re routinely provided at other facilities.

A federal judge says Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials can deny toothbrushes to immigrants detained at a federal courthouse in Manhattan.

On August 8, the American Civil Liberties Union, Make the Road New York, and the New York Civil Liberties Union sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and others for detaining people in inhumane conditions inside the Manhattan federal courthouse located at 26 Federal Plaza.

People have been detained for days at a time in crowded cells that are supposed to hold people for 12 hours, at most. There are no beds or showers, and ICE officials have refused to provide them with toothbrushes, period products, medication, or a change of clothes, and denied them access to their attorneys. Many of the people detained at 26 Federal Plaza were arrested when they showed up to court for mandatory immigration check-ins or hearings.

After the lawsuit was filed, the judge granted the plaintiffs’ request for a temporary restraining order and directed the government to provide detainees with sleeping mats, as well as “adequate supplies of” toothbrushes and toothpaste, soap, towels, toilet paper, and “feminine hygiene” products. The judge also ordered the defendants to ensure detainees have access to their lawyers.

But just days later, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan walked back some of his order after receiving a letter from the Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, who warned that “providing toothbrushes, rather than teeth-cleaning wipes, presents a potential safety concern for other aliens in custody as well as ICE personnel because toothbrushes can be readily improvised as weapons.”

The U.S. Attorney’s claim makes little sense. People in immigration detention facilities, as well as jails and prisons, routinely have access to toothbrushes. In the plaintiffs’ response to Clayton’s letter, the groups note that the 2025 ICE National Detention Standards states that each detainee “shall receive, at a minimum” one tube of toothpaste and one toothbrush.

“There is no basis to deny individuals detained at 26 Federal Plaza basic hygiene products that are customarily made available at other immigration detention facilities across the country,” the groups wrote to the court. “Individuals in immigration custody routinely are provided with toothbrushes, and ICE’s own policies provide for them.”

Immigrants held at 26 Federal Plaza have described horrific conditions where they were denied the most basic necessities.

“I was losing my head in there,” Geovani Maradiaga Ochoa told the court in a statement. “It was like being in hell.”

ICE arrested Ochoa when he arrived for an immigration check-in in the Bronx.

“When I arrived at my check-in with my wife and children, I was led into the back office alone where about five ICE officers were waiting for me,” he said. “They pushed me against the wall, tied my hands, and then took my personal belongings. I asked the officers if I could at least say goodbye to my wife and children but they told me no.”

Ochoa was sent to 26 Federal Plaza where he was detained for six days. During that time, he was not allowed to shower or brush his teeth. He slept on the floor and used his shoes as pillows. There were only two toilets for everyone in the cell to use, about 30-40 people.

After almost a week at 26 Federal Plaza, Ochoa was transferred to Arizona, then Washington State and Texas. On July 19, he was deported, leaving behind his wife and young children, who are all U.S. citizens. Ochoa had lived in the United States for 20 years.