Comptroller Brad Lander and Congressman Dan Goldman Issue Interjurisdictional Oversight Inquiry to Secretary Noem Over Reinstatement of Violence...

Comptroller Brad Lander and Congressman Dan Goldman Issue Interjurisdictional Oversight Inquiry to Secretary Noem Over Reinstatement of Violence ICE Officer

Department of Homeland Security Previously Described Conduct of Officer Recorded Assaulting Asylum Seeker as "Unacceptable and Beneath the Men and Women of ICE"

Violent Conduct by Rank and File ICE Officers at 26 Federal Plaza Has Reportedly Escalated Following Officer's Reinstatement

Oversight Inquiry Demands Details of Investigation; Department Policy on Use of Excessive Force; Justification for Reinstatement

See a Copy of the Inquiry Here

Lander and Goldman Last Week Referred Agent to DOJ for Felony Prosecution

New York, NY - New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and Rep. Dan Goldman (NY-10) today issued an interjurisdictional oversight inquiry to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem over her department's decision to reinstate the ICE officer who was recorded assaulting a woman in front of her children last week. This officer had been relieved of duty pending an investigation after a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson described the officer's conduct as "unacceptable and beneath the men and women of ICE."

Following the officer's reinstatement, reports today indicate that multiple photojournalists were assaulted by masked officers at 26 Federal Plaza, leading at least one to require immediate medical attention by ambulance. Lander and Goldman note in their inquiry that action to reinstate the offending officer appears to be accelerating a crisis of potential civil rights violations within the Department and that the Office of the Inspector General has an obligation to intercede unless these officers are disciplined and reforms are implemented.

Lander and Goldman on Friday referred the officer to the Department of Justice for investigation and potential felony prosecution.

"With yesterday's reinstatement of an ICE agent who violently threw a bereft woman to the floor and today's assault on members of the press, it's back to business as usual for the Trump Administration - because, after all, the cruelty is the point," said Comptroller Brad Lander. "We owe it to the families of those detained - and every New Yorker impacted by Donald Trump's mass deportation machine - to keep showing up and demanding accountability for the violence, cruelty, and lawless abduction of our neighbors. These heinous actions cannot go unanswered, which is why I am demanding answers from Secretary Noem and the Department of Homeland Security on the conduct of ICE agents and their use of excessive force."

"The Department's decision to reinstate this officer is outrageous, especially in light of their own acknowledgement last week that his conduct was unacceptable," Congressman Dan Goldman said. "This officer deserves criminal investigation, not a paycheck from the taxpayers, and it has become clear that giving him a pass for this behavior is incentivizing other rank and file agents to commit violence against civilians. The public needs, and we are demanding, a full accounting of the findings of this alleged 'preliminary investigation' into his conduct, as well as clear answers on Department policy on the use of excessive force in light of video documentation of this officer assaulting a woman in front of her children."

Lander and Goldman's inquiry requests detailed responses as to the official reasoning for the officer's reinstatement, the findings of the investigation that justify reinstatement, Department of Homeland Security policy on the use of excessive force and remediation steps the Department is taking in officer training - particularly in light of the fact that many of these officers are newly hired with little to no experience.

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