A federal judge appointed by President Trump has delivered a blistering condemnation of U.S. immigration authorities, going so far as to threaten the government with contempt of court.
U.S. District Judge Gary Brown, appointed to the bench by Trump in 2019, issued a 24-page ruling excoriating the Department of Homeland Security for what he described as “putrid and cramped” conditions under which Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained an illegal immigrant on Long Island.
Brown warned that ICE could face contempt of court after repeatedly ignoring judicial orders and holding a detainee overnight in a cramped, filthy holding cell never designed for long-term confinement.
The case centers on Erron Anthony Clarke, a Jamaican national, who entered the United States legally in 2018 on an H-2B work visa. After overstaying the visa, which is illegal, Clarke married a U.S. citizen in 2023 and applied for permanent residency earlier this year.
Clarke was detained by ICE on December 5, along with eight other men, who were confined for days at a time in a small “hold room” at the Central Islip Federal Courthouse.
That cell, Judge Brown noted, was designed to hold one person briefly, not to warehouse nine men for days on end.
The conditions described were:
- No beds, bunks, or mattresses
- Detainees forced to sleep on a filthy concrete floor
- An open toilet in the center of the room with no privacy
- No showers, soap, toothbrushes, or clean clothing
- Lights left on 24 hours a day
- Freezing temperatures at night, with outside lows near 21 degrees
Judge Brown noted that the facility was explicitly barred by deed from housing detainees overnight. On December 11, Brown ruled Clarke’s detention violated due process and ordered his immediate release.
The judge’s outrage was not limited to the conditions of confinement. The ruling details what he described as a pattern of government misconduct, including:
- ICE failing to produce the detainee for a court-ordered hearing
- ICE removing the detainee to New Jersey hours before the hearing, without notice
- Submission of sworn declarations containing demonstrably false transport timelines
- Refusal to comply with a direct court order to provide photographs of the holding cells
- Ignoring an explicit order for Clarke’s immediate release, holding him another night anyway
At one point, Judge Brown observed that ICE’s claimed transport times between Long Island and Newark were physically impossible.
The court has now given the government until December 30 to explain why it should not be held in contempt.
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