A federal immigration agent has been relieved of his duties after videos circulated on social media reportedly showing him shove a woman and pull her hair as she tried to shield her husband at a New York City immigration court.
The video shows the woman pleading with an ICE agent, who is not in uniform, as he repeatedly says, “adios” to her. As he turns away, she continues to confront him, standing in front of him in an apparent attempt to stop him.
The agent is then seen shoving her, lifting her hands briefly, before throwing her against a wall and pushing her to the ground, while bystanders can be heard screaming.
He is later seen standing over her and speaking to her before the clip ends.
“[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,” New York City Comptroller Brad Lander wrote alongside one version of the video on Thursday, Sept. 25.
Another video cited by CNN shows the woman with her arms interlocked with a man, understood to be her husband, as he was being detained.
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One masked agent is allegedly seen grabbing the woman’s hair while someone else is heard saying, “Just grab her, grab her and pull her away.” It was not immediately clear who made the comment, and ICE did not respond to PEOPLE’s query about whether any other agents are under investigation.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, confirmed the officer has been relieved of his duties.
“The officer’s conduct in this video is unacceptable and beneath the men and women of ICE,” McLaughlin said, noting that an investigation is underway.
