White powder found at ICE NYC field office appears to be non-hazardous, Mayor Adams says

By Mark Prussin, Alice Gainer, Adi Guajardo

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    NEW YORK CITY (WCBS, WLNY) — A suspicious white powder that forced the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in New York City to evacuate does not appear to be hazardous, Mayor Eric Adams said Friday.

Adams said preliminary testing of the powder discovered at 26 Federal Plaza, which houses Department of Homeland Security and ICE offices in Lower Manhattan, showed no dangerous substance was involved.

“But let’s be clear, this still is a serious crime,” Adams said.

CBS News New York has reached out to the FBI, which is leading the investigation, and DHS about the preliminary test results.

“Anything we can do to assist, we would do so,” Adams continued. “It should not have happened and we’re going to make sure the person that’s responsible will be brought to justice.”

The building was open on Friday.

Mystery powder found in envelopes at 26 Federal Plaza Hazmat teams responded to Federal Plaza just before 4 p.m. Thursday after the mystery powder was found inside five envelopes in the mailroom of an ICE field office on the 9th floor.

Some people in the building were evacuated, while others were ordered to shelter in place after at least two people were exposed to the substance, officials said.

The NYPD urged people to avoid the area before it was determined there was no threat to the public or building workers. No injuries were reported.

Authorities said the envelopes would be sent to the FBI’s headquarters in Quantico, Virginia, for testing.

Building houses federal immigration court Immigration court is held inside the building and it is where ICE agents have detained people after routine hearings.

Immigration advocates have clashed with police outside the federal building over arrests and reportedly poor conditions inside the facility.

A federal judge on Tuesday said he would block the Trump administration from using the building to hold immigrants facing deportation unless it reduces the number of detainees and improves conditions at the site, including by providing sleeping mats and hygiene products.

DHS maintains the building is not a detention center and says allegations of overcrowding or poor conditions are “categorically false.”

Please stay with CBS News New York for updates.

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