New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was dragged from the hallways of a Lower Manhattan immigration court and detained by masked ICE agents on Tuesday. It is still unclear if Lander will be charged with anything.
In videos circualting on social media, Lander can be seen with his arms linked to an immigration court defendant as ICE agents attempt to remove him from the building. Lander and his staff can be heard repeatedly asking for a judicial warrant, saying he’d let go of the defendant once he saw one. ICE did not oblige, and instead detained him, pressing him against a wall and cuffing his hands behind his back. It’s clear from the video that ICE agents determined that the mayoral candidate was obstructing their work. If Lander is charged, it would suggest that any attempt to protest or even document ICE actions could be construed as an arrestable offense. It’s clearly already a detainable one.
“You do not have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens,” Lander said multiple times while ICE tightened the handcuffs.
Hi, this is Meg Barnette, Brad’s wife.While escorting a defendant out of immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza, Brad was taken by masked agents and detained by ICE.This is still developing, and our team is monitoring the situation closely. pic.twitter.com/jekaDFjsT1
— Brad Lander (@bradlander) June 17, 2025
Landers detainment has been met with shock and condemnation. Multiple city leaders, including Lander’s wife Megan Barnette and fellow mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, held a press conference immediately following the incident.
“NYC Comptroller Brad Lander was just arrested by Trump’s ICE agents because he asked to see a judicial warrant,” Mamdani wrote on X. “This is fascism and all New Yorkers must speak in one voice. Release him now.”
“ICE just arrested Brad Lander, the NYC Comptroller and one of the leading candidates for Mayor, without grounds. He was conducting routine immigration court work, escorting individuals from hearings,” New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Bluesky. “He asked ICE for their warrant – well within his legal rights. This is political intimidation.”
“I feel really rattled and scared, and my husband is a candidate for mayor, is an elected citywide official, is U.S. citizen,” Barnette said. He “has a U.S. passport and I know in all likelihood he is okay. And all of the other folks in that building are risking having their families torn apart with inadequate explanation. And it’s an abomination.”
ICE holds that Comptroller Lander was obstructing an arrest by linking arms with the defendant and asking to see a warrant.
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