ICE Officer Placed On Leave After Assaulting Woman In Courthouse

The latest violent incident inside New York’s immigration courts highlights why many call for an end to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s presence in spaces meant for due process, not intimidation. Video from the Jacob K. Javits building at 26 Federal Plaza shows an officer pushing a woman to the ground after yelling “adios” multiple times, moments after her husband had been detained. She is seen crying as a crowd looks on. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the officer has been placed on administrative leave. “The officer's conduct in this video is unacceptable and beneath the men and women of ICE,” said DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.

Yet for immigrant advocates, the incident is not an exception but part of a dangerous pattern. Over the past five months, ICE has expanded its footprint inside courthouses, creating what NPR described as “confusion, explosive anger and waiting.” Families seeking answers about loved ones are met with militarized policing instead of transparency. The same officer involved in this latest assault had previously been caught on audio shoving and yelling at a court observer. “Don’t f****** touch me. Why are you pushing me? Why are you shoving me? I am not following you!” she shouted as the confrontation escalated before she was detained herself. 

DHS later claimed she had “interrupted the agents,” a justification that echoes the agency’s long history of criminalizing those who monitor or challenge its actions.

ICE insists its personnel “are held to the highest professional standards,” but repeated assaults on vulnerable people reveal a deeper truth: this agency thrives on fear. By targeting family members, observers, and community advocates, ICE enforces silence around a system already stacked against immigrants. The sight of an armed federal agent mocking a woman’s grief with “adios” before throwing her to the floor epitomizes the cruelty many face daily in immigration courts.

These events make one thing clear: ICE has no place in our courthouses. For years, the community has said the same. People deserve safety and dignity when they step into court, not the threat of being hunted down by federal agents. Until ICE is fully removed from these spaces, families will keep living with fear, and the cycle of abuse will go on.

Link: NPR