Federal agents detained 11 Democratic officials in Lower Manhattan on Thursday after the group pressed for entry into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) holding areas, reports the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The demonstrations took place just hours after a federal judge directed ICE to improve conditions at its 10th-floor detention site inside 26 Federal Plaza. The order requires the agency to ensure sanitary conditions, reduce overcrowding, and provide detainees with timely access to phone calls with their attorneys, The New York Times reported.

Officials said their intent was to verify whether ICE had complied with the ruling. However, when Department of Homeland Security personnel blocked their entry, arrests followed. NYPD officers also handcuffed others outside the building as part of a related protest blockade.

“This afternoon I faced arrest alongside dozens of New Yorkers in a nonviolent civil disobedience to demand oversight of ICE’s inhumane detention practices,” New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams said in a statement.

City Comptroller Brad Lander was arrested inside the building, while Williams was taken into custody with demonstrators outside, according to video from the scene.

The judicial order issued Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan built upon an earlier restraining order from August, which had already prohibited cramped and unsanitary confinement. Kaplan’s new injunction further mandates sleeping mats, adequate hygiene supplies, more personal space for detainees, and guaranteed confidential calls with attorneys.

The holding facility at 26 Federal Plaza has faced mounting criticism following a lawsuit alleging constitutional violations tied to its conditions. Court documents show Kaplan agreed the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on those claims.

Thursday’s arrests also echoed an earlier incident at the same ICE site. In June, Lander was briefly detained during another confrontation with federal officers, a moment captured on video that drew widespread condemnation from New York officials.