Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been making headlines this year for its forceful arrests of illegal immigrants after the 47th POTUS announced an immigration crackdown soon after starting his second term. Masked men driving ICE vans are often seen chasing the migrants, punching them down, and handcuffing them at their homes, workplaces, and even the immigration court.
In a recent incident, an ICE agent was caught mishandling a woman. A video showed him shoving her and pulling her hair as she tried to protect her husband from being arrested at a New York City immigration court.
The woman was pleading with an ICE agent who wasn’t in his uniform, as the video shows. He kept saying ‘adios’ and turned away, but she continued to plead with him. However, he lost his calm.
The agent not only shoved her, but also lifted her hands and threw her against the wall. However, he didn’t stop there. He shoved her to the ground as the bystanders and the woman’s kids watched the horror unfold.
He then stood on top of her and said something before the video ended that eventually went viral on social media. Netizens slammed the agency and the current administration for “ruthlessly” handling people during the immigration crackdown.
Amid the growing outrage, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander shared a version of the video and wrote, “[An] ICE agent violently threw this bereft woman to the ground in front of her kids. She had not touched him. She did not pose any threat. She had to be taken to the hospital.”
However, MAGA supporters have defended the agent’s actions while accusing the woman of obstructing him as he carried out his duty. An X user pointed out, “Watch closely she touches then grabs his hand then shirt! I don’t know a lot in this life but I do know you don’t touch or grab a federal agent!!”
Another user countered, “I just don’t think it was necessary from what you saw and was just pleading with him. Yes, it may have been annoying to him but she did not harm him in anyway for him to grab her like that. If anything, he could have walked away swiftly to get away from her OR just call the police to intervene and they could have stepped in and stood between him and her basically blocking her from him while he went on about his day.”
An agent was seen grabbing the woman’s hair while someone else was heard saying, “Just grab her, grab her and pull her away.” It is not clear who made the comments but a strict action has been taken against the ICE agent seen on camera mishandling the woman.
According to a report by People, the agent has been relieved of his duties. “The officer’s conduct in this video is unacceptable and beneath the men and women of ICE,” said Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security. She also informed the outlet that an investigation is underway. However, she didn’t comment on the terms of the agent’s relief from duty. There’s also no further clarity about whether any other agents from the incident are under investigation.
