Sat Sep 27 08:30:00 UTC 2025: **ICE Officer Removed from Duty After Video Surfaces of Alleged Assault on Woman at NYC Immigration Court**
**NEW YORK, NY** – An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer has been “relieved of his current duties” pending a full investigation after a video surfaced showing him allegedly shoving a woman into a wall and then pushing her to the ground at an immigration court in New York City. The incident, which occurred Thursday at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan, has sparked outrage and calls for prosecution from city officials.
The video shows Monica Moreta-Galarza and her daughter clinging to her husband as he was being detained. As she was being separated from her husband, the video shows the officer grab Moreta-Galarza and force her several feet down the hallway and into a wall before pushing her to the ground.
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called the officer’s conduct “unacceptable and beneath the men and women of ICE,” adding that ICE officers are “held to the highest professional standards.” It remains unclear if the officer is still employed elsewhere within ICE.
The woman, along with her family, has open asylum claims. US Representative Dan Goldman and New York City Comptroller Brad Lander have referred the officer to the US Attorney’s Office for felony prosecution, alleging he violated the federal code on deprivation of rights under color of law.
Moreta-Galarza told CNN affiliate WXTV that ICE agents “encircled” her family and “slammed me against the floor, they grabbed my kids and dragged them away…and caused my head to slam against the floor.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ office released a statement saying the city is “less safe when immigrants are afraid to use basic services and attend court hearings.”
Comptroller Lander stated the masked ICE agents “did not identify themselves, did not present a warrant and did not give any lawful grounds for detaining Moreta-Galarza’s husband” and that “every day, masked ICE agents are acting violently against our neighbors, illegally abducting them, holding them in cruel and inhumane conditions.”
Moreta-Galarza stated that after fleeing violence in Ecuador, she did not expect to be subjected to more violence in the United States.
The family is reportedly planning to sue ICE for excessive use of force. The husband has been transferred to a detention center in New Jersey.
This incident is happening amid escalating immigration enforcement efforts by ICE in New York City.
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