17 Jun 2025

NYC Comptroller Lander Detained by ICE

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New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was detained by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at Lower Manhattan federal immigration court while accompanying an immigrant whose case had just been dismissed.
Agents from several federal agencies were in the halls at 26 Federal Plaza, including ICE, Enforcement and Removal Operations, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Treasury Department.
Minutes before ICE confronted Lander, a reporter from The City overheard one agent say to another, “Do you want to arrest the Comptroller?”
As Lander and the immigrant left the courtroom, agents wearing medical face masks approached. Lander locked arms with the immigrant. He repeatedly demanded to see a judicial warrant and badge numbers.

As the agents pushed him against a wall and handcuffed him, Lander repeated, “You do not have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens.” The agents took him into an elevator. One member of his NYPD security detail accompanied him. The man Lander escorted was also detained.

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin released a statement saying, “New York City Comptroller Brad Lander was arrested for assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer. 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. No one is above the law, and if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will face consequences.”

Video of the entire encounter was readily available and showed that if anyone assaulted anyone else, ICE agents assaulted Lander.

He was charged with obstructing governmental administration or impeding a federal officer. It was not immediately clear which.

Lander’s wife Meg Barnette, who was with him when he was arrested, said they were “swarmed.” She called the arrest shocking and unacceptable. She emphasized he was simply exercising his right to ask for a warrant.

The arrest comes a week before the Democratic mayoral primary on 24 June. Problems caused by ICE’s escalation of its courthouse operations are growing. Shortly before Lander’s arrest, a reporter from The City asked why he was there instead of out campaigning to voters.

He said, “I don’t think there’s any place that’s more important to be right now than bearing witness and trying to stand up for the rule of law. A big question on the campaign trail is how will you stand up to Donald Trump.”

Assembly member Zohran Mamdani, another mayoral candidate who has cross-endorsed with Lander in the city’s ranked choice election, was quick to publicly call for Lander’s release.

This incident comes not long after federal agents arresting Newark, NJ Mayor Ras Baraka and filing charges against Congressional Representative LaMonica McIver for another incident in which video distinctly contradicts federal agents’ story. It comes close on the heels of the manhandling and detention of Senator Alex Padilla for asking a question in a press conference.

Federal agents in each of these instances did precisely what an authoritarian regime does.

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