ICE agent who shoved woman to ground in front of teen daughter ‘relieved of duties’ | Video
A federal immigration officer in Manhattan has been relieved of duties after pushing an Ecuadorian woman to the floor during her husband's arrest.
A federal immigration officer who forcefully shoved an Ecuadorian woman to the ground at a Manhattan court is being “relieved of current duties,” the Department of Homeland Security confirmed, issuing a rare public reprimand of one of its own.
The incident, which sparked outrage after being widely shared on social media, occurred following the arrest of the woman's husband at an immigration court in New York City, as reported by AP.
In a video circulating on social media, Monica Moreta-Galarza and her daughter are seen holding onto their husband and father desperately as he is being detained in a hallway at the ICE district office located in Lower Manhattan’s 26 Federal Plaza.
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Footage shows the woman approach the immigration officer following her husband's arrest, pleading with the officer in Spanish and at one point saying “You don't care about anything,” before he pushes her into a wall and then onto the floor of a crowded hallway.
“The officer's conduct in this video is unacceptable and beneath the men and women of ICE,” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary at DHS, which oversees immigration enforcement, said on Friday. “Our ICE law enforcement are held to the highest professional standards and this officer is being relieved of current duties as we conduct a full investigation,” she added.
It is uncommon for the Trump administration's DHS to discipline immigration officers for aggressive tactics across the US.
The altercation in New York occurred Thursday at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan, a government building that houses an immigration court and has become a local hotbed of arrests and detentions in the federal government's immigration crackdown.
The agency has defended its practice of having Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrest people at immigration court hearings, which have sometimes produced chaotic scenes.
(With inputs from AP)
- The incident highlights concerns over aggressive tactics used by immigration officers.
- Public outrage can lead to accountability and disciplinary actions within federal agencies.
- The incident may influence public perception and policies regarding immigration enforcement.