An ICE agent who was previously relieved of duty after a video showed him shoving a woman to the ground has reportedly been reinstated.
The incident took place at a New York City courthouse. Videos of the altercation circulated online, appearing to show the plain-clothes agent push a woman against a wall and then onto the ground.
In another video cited by CNN, the woman could be seen interlocking her arms with a man believed to be her husband, who had been detained.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said the woman was taken to the hospital following the incident.
After the video circulated, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed to PEOPLE that the agent had been “relieved” of his duties.
“The officer’s conduct in this video is unacceptable and beneath the men and women of ICE,” DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
However, CBS reports, citing U.S. officials, that the agent has now been reinstated following a preliminary review.
In a post on X, Lander also confirmed that the ICE agent had returned to duty.
“Last week, in the briefest moment of decency, violently throwing a woman to the floor was ‘beneath the men and women of ICE,'” Lander wrote. “This week, it’s back to business as usual. The cruelty, after all, is the point.”
The Department of Homeland Security has not immediately responded to questions about the agent’s current status.
On Wednesday, Sept. 30, an ICE officer allegedly shoved a photojournalist to the ground at the same courthouse, requiring the photographer to be carried out on a stretcher, according to the New York Times, WNYC, and amNewYork.
Photojournalists at amNewYork and the Associated Press were also reportedly shoved, according to amNewYork. The photographers were allegedly trying to capture images of agents detaining migrants, per WNYC.
