Update from May 16, 2025: The claims deadline is extended to Aug. 15 after the original window closed yesterday. Anyone who is an immigrant and spent time in New York City jails with suspicion they were held on an ICE retainer from Apr. 1, 1997 to Dec. 21, 2012 should file at https://nycicesettlement.com/. Qualifying individuals do not need to prove their eligibility.
The extension was “baked into” the settlement in the event it did not reach a high claims rate. Earlier this year, the Adams administration attempted to install an ICE office on Rikers Island with the caveat of only investigating criminal investigations and not civil enforcement, which include deportation proceedings. City council is currently challenging the executive order.
“For people who are concerned about immigrant rights and immigrant representation, this is evidence that a city faces real consequences if they start holding people that they don’t have a right to hold,” said lawyer Debra L. Greenberger. “The Constitution protects citizens and non-citizens alike. This case is a really crisp encapsulation that when you violate immigrants rights, it can be very costly for the city.”
Claims opened up last month for the Onadia class action settlement, which accuses the city of unlawfully extending detainments in local jails at the request of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) between Apr. 1, 1997 and Dec. 21, 2012. The deadline is May 15.
While the class counsel law firms Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel, LLP and Benno & Associates already have a list of the more than 20,000 individuals who qualify for the up to $92.5 million payout, tracking them down to claim their money is another question. Some no longer live in the country. Others may mistake the settlement as a scam.
The claims period also coincides with escalating ICE raids under the Trump administration — lawyers fear some potential class members may keep a low profile because they still face deportation threats.
Some class members are in line for more than $10,000 and most will likely receive at least a four-figure payout. Exactly how much money each person receives will depend on how long they were detained and how many people end up collecting. In addition, those who were held in the first 10 years of the lawsuit period — from 1997 to 2007 — will only receive half as a compromise to the city’s dispute that such a claims period has already passed.
“We are asking for the help from the news media, community organizations, and individuals to share this information with anyone they know who may fit the description of a class member, so they can receive a settlement payment,” said Debra L. Greenberger, a partner at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP.
Eligible individuals can claim online (see link is provided at end of this article). The class counsel said that filing is meant to be a swift process — they just need to verify the identities of those on the city records list of qualifying people. People who are unsure whether their detainment by the NYC Department of Corrections for ICE falls within the settlement period are encouraged to apply.
Known as an ICE detainer, the written request asks other law enforcement agencies to keep non-citizen detainees in custody for 48 hours after their release date so federal immigration authorities have more time to pick them up for potential deportation proceedings. Such holds can trample over due process. Some class members were allegedly held for months beyond their release dates. In 2017, the City Council passed and enacted a law banning local agencies from honoring ICE detainers without a warrant.
“Resolving this long-standing case was in the best interest of all parties,” said a city law department spokesperson in a statement. “During the period this case covers, from 1997 to 2012, New York City — and localities across the country — operated with the assumption that compliance with ICE detainers was mandated under federal law.
“Court rulings eventually clarified that localities could not hold a detainee beyond their release date based solely on the contents of a federal detainer and that a court order is needed. New York City changed its policies in 2012 to conform with these court rulings.”
Many potential class members are citizens of Mexico, Jamaica, and Haiti. Those from majority-white countries with significant undocumented populations, like Ireland, were not as represented in the settlement. The overrepresentation of Black and Brown immigrants in the settlement class reflects the broader disparities in pre-trial detention of Black and Brown New Yorkers, who were specifically targeted by stop-and-frisk police tactics during this period.
To file a claim, go to https://nycicesettlement.com/.
Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member who writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.