Steven Raga (center) is the first Filipino elected to the New York State Assembly. CONTRIBUTED
NEW YORK — Steven Raga, the first Filipino elected to the New York State Assembly, was arrested Thursday alongside other assemblymembers and senators during a peaceful anti-ICE protest at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan, New York.
Raga represents District 30 in Queens, home to “Little Manila Avenue,” a vibrant hub for Filipino businesses and community organizations.
Raga’s arrest happened during a mass demonstration where elected officials and faith leaders gathered outside the ICE holding center in Manhattan, demanding oversight and compliance following a federal court injunction mandating improved conditions for detainees.
Assemblyman Steven Raga was among 11 elected officials who were denied access to the 10th floor ICE holding area at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan. They were later handcuffed and removed from the building. CONTRIBUTED
Protesters called out overcrowded, “cage-like” conditions, lack of medical care and starvation among detainees.
“As Americans, we have a duty to hold the government accountable when unalienable rights are at risk… Get ICE out of New York and release all the detainees at 26 Federal Plaza,” Raga said in a statement.
#HappeningNow: Assemblymember Raga has been arrested on the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza. https://t.co/KSHd8fDvEH
— Assemblymember Steven Raga (@RagaForQueens) September 18, 2025
Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas, who was also detained, stated:
“Today, I stood in solidarity with elected colleagues, advocates, and faith leaders in the halls of 26 Federal Plaza. The U.S. District Court granted a preliminary injunction that requires improved conditions for detained people at 26 Federal Plaza, ensuring that people are not kept in spaces smaller than 50 square feet per person. We attempted to conduct oversight of the 10th floor to ensure compliance with this preliminary injunction ruling. We put our bodies on the line for the lives and freedom of thousands of New Yorkers… Many of us, myself included, were arrested”.
González-Rojas emphasized the urgency for legislative reform, calling for the passage of the New York for All Act and the Access to Representation Act on the state level, and the NYC Trust Act locally to prevent city agencies’ collaboration with ICE and guarantee legal representation for immigrants.
“Our community’s lives and dignity are on the line. We will not stop fighting,” she said.
Raga, raised in Queens by a single immigrant mother, was elected to the State Assembly in 2022, making history as New York’s first Filipino and Southeast Asian state legislator. His district includes Woodside, Elmhurst, and other large immigrant neighborhoods.
Raga described the rally as “a call to action to protect our community and safeguard the principles of democracy, equity, and justice for all”.
The other officials arrested by federal agents included González-Rojas, Claire Valdez, Robert Carroll, Phara Souffrant Forrest, Tony Simone, Emily Gallagher, Marcela Mitaynes, State Senators Gustavo Rivera, Jabari Brisport and Julia Salazar, and Comptroller Brad Lander, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Council Member Cabán.
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