New York, NY—Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that the federal immigration officer who was captured on video pushing a woman to the ground at 26 Federal Plaza has been “relieved of current duties” while an investigation is underway. "The officer's conduct in this video is unacceptable and beneath the men and women of ICE,” said DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.
Mario Bruzzone, Vice President of Policy, New York Immigration Coalition:
“The officer’s behavior at 26 Federal Plaza was wildly unacceptable. The video shows an egregious use of excessive force that even DHS won’t deny. But this is not an isolated incident. Federal immigration agents are violating people’s rights daily and with impunity – with force, with lies, with coercion. We have witnessed ICE intimidating children and using violence to separate families, to spread fear through our communities. This pattern of abuse and trauma can’t continue. ICE must be immediately removed from our immigration courts, so that our immigrant neighbors can once again lawfully pursue their cases in safety. Immigrant New Yorkers deserve dignity and the ability to live without terror in the pursuit of a better future.”