A federal immigration officer has been removed from operational duties pending an internal review after a video showed him forcing a woman against a wall and knocking her to the floor inside New York City’s immigration courthouse. The confrontation unfolded on Thursday at New York’s Federal Plaza Immigration Court, where videos show a woman and a young girl holding onto a man identified as her husband as agents attempted to detain him.
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An agent is seen yanking the woman’s hair as officers separate the family. In a subsequent exchange in the corridor, an officer pushes the woman into a wall and onto the floor as her children watch.
Tricia McLaughlin, the Department of Homeland Security’s assistant secretary for public affairs, said on Friday that the behavior seen on camera was “unacceptable.” She confirmed that the officer is relieved of his current duties during a full investigation, and it’s not clear whether the officer will keep his job.
How are officials responding?
Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., said the woman and her children went to his office for safety after the incident. He urged Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to impose discipline and safeguards to prevent a repeat.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who said he was at the plaza at the time of the incident, wrote on X, “I was back at 26 Federal Plaza today (w/@NYSenatorRivera), where an ICE agent violently threw this bereft woman to the ground in front of her kids.”
Speaking to reporters, the woman, identified only as Monica, said, “Over [in Ecuador], they beat us there too. I didn’t think I’d come here to the United States and the same thing would happen to me.”
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor, called the officer’s conduct “sickening.”
Why does the location matter?
The multi-agency facility houses immigration court and ICE’s New York field office and, according to The New York Times, has seen hundreds of arrests this year amid the current federal crackdown.
Advocates have criticized detentions during court appearances, citing overcrowded holding areas and hallway encounters that have sometimes turned volatile as agents separate families.
Protesters gathered at Foley Square on Thursday evening, demanding an end to courthouse arrests and greater accountability for federal officers.
