Federal officials have released new information regarding the temporary arrest of a New York state Democrat during a scuffle with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Tuesday.
ICE agents arrested state Comptroller Brad Lander, who is a candidate for New York City mayor, after he allegedly assaulted one of them while trying to prevent the arrest of a suspected illegal immigrant. Lander repeatedly demanded that agents produce a “judicial warrant” to justify their actions.
“You don’t have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens asking for a judicial warrant,” Lander shouted at one point.
Left-wing “Squad” Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York added, “He asked ICE for their warrant — well within his legal rights.”
But, as the Washington Times reported, “experts said that misunderstood immigration law. Immigration enforcement, particularly in the country’s interior, is usually a civil matter with the punishment being deportation.
“ICE deportation officers making those arrests operate under administrative warrants, not judicial warrants, since there is no criminal charge but rather an accusation of illegal presence,” the Times report noted further.’
Lander is just the latest Democrat arrested for allegedly impeding ICE and assaulting agents.
Even as news of his arrest broke, Senator Alex Padilla was on the Senate floor defending his recent confrontation with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem regarding immigration enforcement and the deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles. He, too, found himself in handcuffs, though he was not arrested or detained.
In another ICE-related incident, New Jersey Democrat Rep. LaMonica McIver has been charged with assaulting federal officers after video footage reportedly showed her using her forearm to shove ICE agents during an altercation at a detention facility in New Jersey. She faces nearly two decades in prison.
Jonathan Fahey, a former assistant U.S. attorney who led ICE during the final days of the first Trump administration, stated that Democrats are now competing to oppose ICE.
“It’s such utter nonsense and it’s so clear the Democrats’ strategy now is just full-on obstruct in every respect because they know on the merits of these issues, they lose,” he told the Times.
Hours after his arrest, Lander was released from the federal courthouse, where he was joined by New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D). At a news conference outside the courthouse, Hochul announced that charges against Lander had been dropped.
However, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York stated officials are still “continuing to investigate” Lander’s conduct.
“Our heroic ICE law enforcement officers face a 413% increase in assaults against them—it is wrong that politicians seeking higher office undermine law enforcement safety to get a viral moment,” a DHS spokesperson said. “No one is above the law, and if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will face consequences.”
Video footage of Lander’s arrest appears to show him holding onto Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as they escorted a defendant from immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza, repeatedly questioning whether the officials had a judicial warrant.
“I will let go when you show me the judicial warrant!” Lander said in the video. “Where is it?! Where is the warrant?!”
Donna Lieberman, Executive Director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, condemned the arrest, using Democratic Party talking points by calling it an abuse of power and a threat to democracy and asserting that Lander was targeted simply for “asking questions.”
“Arresting a public official, the duly-elected comptroller of the City of New York, for asking questions is dangerous intimidation and shows a wanton disregard for the will of the people of New York,” Lieberman wrote in a statement.
“It sends an unmistakably authoritarian message – that ICE doesn’t care about the rule of law and that anyone exercising their right to challenge ICE and speak up for immigrants will be punished,” the statement continued.