In brief
Following a viral video showing an ICE officer shoving a woman to the ground in a New York immigration court, the officer has been placed on leave. The Department of Homeland Security is investigating the incident, which has raised concerns about the treatment of individuals in such settings. The woman, whose husband was reportedly being taken into custody, called the incident alarming, prompting calls for accountability.
The Department of Homeland Security has placed an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer on leave after he was filmed shoving a woman to the ground at a New York immigration court.
He has been relieved of his current duties while DHS conducts a full investigation into the incident, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement on Friday.
The officer's conduct in this video is unacceptable and beneath the men and women of ICE, McLaughlin added. Our ICE law enforcement are held to the highest professional standards.
Video of the incident, which was widely shared on social media, shows a crying woman approaching the ICE officer in a hallway as he repeatedly says adios to her. He then grabs her, pushes her backwards, and knocks her to the ground.
Another video from a different angle shows the woman confronting the officer, shouting take me, take me! in Spanish. The officer forces her several feet down the hallway into a wall and subsequently pushes her to the ground. He then stands over her and instructs her to leave! in Spanish before requesting nearby officers to remove her from the building.
This incident followed an attempt by federal agents to take her husband into custody while she and her daughter were clinging to him. The woman later informed reporters that she is from Ecuador. Under former President Trump’s immigration policies, ICE officers have been increasingly involved in detaining immigrants in federal courthouses, with many arrests reported in New York City.
Democratic Congressman Dan Goldman, whose district includes the courthouse, stated that the woman and her children fled to my office for safety after she was assaulted and called for appropriate disciplinary actions from DHS to prevent such incidents in the future.
