ICE officer placed on leave after shoving woman at New York courthouse, DHS says
DHS launches full investigation into incident at a New York immigration court; officer's conduct deemed unacceptable
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer has been placed on leave after a video showed him shoving a woman to the ground inside a New York immigration court, the Department of Homeland Security said Friday. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the officer's conduct was unacceptable and beneath the standards expected of ICE personnel, adding that the department is conducting a full investigation.
Video of the incident circulated on social media on Thursday, showing a crying woman approaching the ICE officer in a courthouse hallway. The officer says “adios” before grabbing the woman, pushing her backwards and knocking her to the ground. A separate clip from another angle shows the confrontation continuing, with the woman heard shouting “take me” in Spanish. The officer then pulls the woman several feet down the hallway and into a wall, continuing to shove her. He stands over the woman and tells nearby officers to remove her from the building, saying “leave!” in Spanish. A separate clip showed the woman being escorted from the courthouse as the incident unfolded.
The BBC’s U.S. partner and CBS News reported that the incident occurred as federal agents were attempting to take the woman’s husband into custody, with the woman and her daughter clinging to him during the encounter. The woman is described in reporting as being from Ecuador.
ICE has increasingly deployed agents to federal courthouses as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, including operations in New York courthouses where hundreds of immigrants have been arrested. Dan Goldman, a Democratic congressman whose district includes the New York courthouse, said the woman and her two children fled to his office for safety after she was assaulted and urged DHS to take appropriate disciplinary action and to implement measures to prevent a recurrence.
DHS officials said the investigation will assess whether the officer violated agency policy and conduct standards and pledged ongoing updates as the review unfolds.