Journalists grabbed, shoved by ICE agents in New York immigration court, video shows

At least one journalist appeared to be injured after one reporter was grabbed and another was shoved by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at a New York City immigration court Tuesday morning, video of the encounter showed.

In the video, a group of people enter an elevator, including a reporter from amNewYork who was carrying his camera. A masked man wearing a bullet proof vest with the word “police” grabs the reporter, as others shout, “Get the f*** off the elevator,” the video, obtained by Getty Images, shows.

Another woman shooting photos outside the elevator is then shoved to the ground by another masked agent and falls onto another man with a camera who was also knocked to the floor, the video shows.

A witness can be heard saying “Oh, my God,” several times in the video.

CNN has reached out to amNewYork for comment.

A freelance photographer whose clients include the Associated Press and a videographer from the Anadolu Agency, who was injured, were also involved.

The latter left the building on a stretcher, the newspaper reported and the video shows. The other two journalists were not injured, the AP reported.

CNN has reached out to the Anadolu Agency and the injured photographer for comment.

The journalists were documenting an arrest when they were shoved, according to the New York Immigration Coalition.

The ICE agents were arresting an immigrant from Peru when they were “swarmed by agitators and members of the press,” Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to CNN.

“Rioters and sanctuary politicians who encourage individuals to interfere with arrests are actively creating hostile environments that put officers, detainees and the public in harm’s way,” she said.

The journalist is seen being hospitalized after falling and hitting his head on the ground in New York City, on Tuesday. Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu/Getty Images

“Following last week’s terrorist attack, we are particularly concerned with our officer’s safety,” McLaughlin said, referring to the attack on an ICE office in Dallas that has left two detainees dead. “Again, we are urging the media and politicians to stop fanning the flames of division and stop demonization of law enforcement.”

Tuesday’s incident, which occurred at 26 Federal Plaza, comes amid growing tensions nationally over ICE tactics. Critics say officers are being overly aggressive, while the agency says the safety of agents is at risk.

In Illinois, four protesters are facing federal charges after weekend clashes in suburban Chicago – including one who allegedly threatened to kill an agent. And last week in the same building, an ICE officer who shoved a mother to the floor at immigration courthouse was relieved of current duties.

Tuesday’s encounter was condemned by immigration groups and Democratic politicians.

“ICE brutalizes New Yorkers every day without any accountability. Whether it’s family members attending court, community members offering court watch support, or journalists exercising their constitutional right to document events, ICE has shown a blatant disregard for human dignity and safety,” Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of New York Immigration Coalition, said in a news release. “Our immigration courts should be places where due process and justice are upheld, not where violence is the norm.”

The organization is calling for ICE agents to be removed from immigration courts.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul shared video of the incident on X.

“This abuse of law-abiding immigrants and the reporters telling their stories must end. What the hell are we doing here?” she wrote.

“We cannot accept or normalize what has now become routine violence at 26 Federal Plaza. It has no place in our city,” New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani said in a post on X.

Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s DHS focuses more on “bullying Americans than defending national security.” He called on DHS to identify the agents involved and to hold them accountable.

“This is just the latest outrage in a string of documented violence against law-abiding people exercising their rights,” Jeffries said. “Americans cannot and should not tolerate unaccountable masked secret police.”