An ICE officer has been removed from his post after he was caught on video throwing a mother to the ground outside a New York City immigration court on Thursday.
DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin confirmed to the Daily Beast that the officer has been “relieved of his duties” as the department investigates the incident.
McLaughlin also called the officer’s conduct “unacceptable and beneath the men and women of ICE.” She added that ICE agents are “held to the highest professional standards.”
I’m Till Eckert, a ProPublica reporter. For the past 2 weeks, I’ve been going to the same NY immigration courthouse.Nearly every time, I see ICE agents arresting immigrants. Today, a woman was slammed to the ground after begging officials not to take her husband away.Thread👇 pic.twitter.com/elTzcoskS9
— ProPublica (@propublica) September 26, 2025
The video, captured by ProPublica reporter Till Eckert, shows the officer getting aggressive with a woman as she begs agents not to take her husband, who was detained after an asylum hearing.
The officer can then be seen shoving the woman several times, eventually throwing her to the ground and standing over her while repeatedly yelling, “Adiós.”
The woman, later identified as Monica Moreta-Galarza, is a mother of four from Ecuador, seeking asylum with her husband and children. She was hospitalized following the altercation.
Eckert spoke with Moreta-Galarza at the hospital, who said, “Over [in Ecuador], they beat us there, too. I didn’t think I’d come here to the United States and the same thing would happen to me.”
Another video shows an earlier moment in the altercation, in which the same officer grabs Moreta-Galarza by the hair as she and her young daughter cling to her husband. A group of fellow officers eventually drag him away.
New York City Comptroller and former mayoral candidate Brad Lander shared the video on X, where he wrote that the officers “did not identify themselves, did not present a warrant, did not give any lawful grounds for his detention.”
The altercation caused outrage among local political leaders Thursday night after Lander shared several videos on social media.
Seconds earlier, her husband had been abducted by masked ICE agents who did not identify themselves, did not present a warrant, did not give any lawful grounds for his detention.https://t.co/b2ia1CrSgW
— Brad Lander (@bradlander) September 25, 2025
Rep. Dan Goldman, a Democrat from New York, called the incident “an egregious act of excessive force” and said Moreta-Galarza and two of her children fled to his office after leaving the scene. New York Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani described the videos as “sickening.”
Lander encouraged followers on X to join him in protesting ICE’s conduct Thursday night, and later shared a photo of himself with a large crowd of demonstrators outside the building.
The comptroller was one of several city officials arrested for protesting in the same building last week. He was also detained there in June after locking arms with a man being detained and asking agents to show him their judicial warrant.
After the public outcry, CBS immigration reporter Camilo Montoya-Galvez reported via X that the officer had been taken off duty as of Friday afternoon.
Lander reacted to the news by casting doubt on McLaughlin’s claim that ICE agents are “held to the highest professional standards.”
“I’m grateful that action is being taken to address yesterday’s violence at 26 Federal Plaza,” Lander wrote on X. “But let’s be clear: Lawless action by ICE agents is taking place every day.”
The post ICE Officer Suspended Over Brutal Attack on Mom of Four appeared first on The Daily Beast.
