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2h ago

Amtrak Penn Station Bathroom Crackdown Leads to ICE Transfers, Nearly 200 Arrests Since June

As a federal force, Amtrak Police operate outside New York’s sanctuary limits, enabling handoffs to immigration authorities for people flagged in federal databases.

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Amtrak Police say they've arrested some 200 men inside the Penn Station bathroom since the start of June.

Overview

  • At least 20 immigrants detained in Penn Station bathrooms have been transferred to ICE since June, according to Amtrak Deputy Police Chief Martin Conway and an officer involved in the operation.
  • Nearly 200 people have been arrested or detained by Amtrak Police in the men’s room near Eighth Avenue and 31st Street since early June, Conway confirmed.
  • NYPD-tracked data showed public lewdness arrests by Amtrak Police rose from eight in the first five months of 2025 to 23 in June, and Legal Aid reported 20 arrests in a single day this month.
  • An Amtrak officer said plainclothes cops have hidden in stalls or posed at urinals to make arrests, while a CUNY law professor alleges officers also used the cruising app Sniffies to lure people.
  • Legal Aid attorneys say many cases are dropped or steered to diversion and resemble discriminatory bathroom stings that led to a 2022 Port Authority settlement, with one arrestee reporting anti-gay slurs by officers.