Conditions at ICE's holding facility at 26 Federal Plaza subject of a court hearing Wednesday

A judge is hearing arguments in federal court Wednesday over conditions at an ICE holding facility in Lower Manhattan. 

The ICE facility at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan has been at the center of widespread criticism from pro-immigration advocates. 

The American Civil Liberties Union and other advocates filed a lawsuit against ICE last year alleging inhumane, unsafe and unsanitary conditions at the facility, and claiming detainees received only two "inedible" meals a day. 

The Department of Homeland Security has denied allegations of substandard conditions. 

In September, a federal court ordered ICE to improve conditions for detainees there. That order came on the heels of a temporary restraining order issued in August. That order did several things, including banning ICE from holding people in spaces that allow less than 50 square feet per person, ordering ICE to improve detainee access to hygiene products, and to provide sleeping mats as well as access to call attorneys within 24 hours of arriving at the facility. 

Video verified by CBS News New York and released last July showed conditions on the 10th floor of the building. A group of men could be seen being held in a room that had no furniture and two toilets behind half walls in the rear.

DHS has previously argued that 26 Federal Plaza was not a detention center but rather as a "processing center" that provides "brief intake" before detainees are transferred. DHS has flatly denied any allegations of poor conditions, calling those claims "categorically false."