Mayor contender in New York held captive by ICE
New York City Comptroller and Mayoral Candidate Brad Lander's Contentious Arrest
In a dramatic turn of events, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, a mayoral contender, found himself handcuffed and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on June 17, 2025. This arrest unfolded at an immigration court in Manhattan, making Lander the latest politician to face law enforcement in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial immigration raids.
Braving through several hours of detention, Lander was subsequently released after New York Governor Kathy Hochul intervened. Upon exiting the courthouse, Hochul confirmed that charges against Lander had been dropped.
Lander shared his experience, claiming that he was escorting a defendant out of immigration court when ICE agents apprehended him. According to Lander, he endured a minor scuffle, losing a button from his shirt during the arrest by federal agents. With an assertive tone, Lander criticized the rule of law and the erosion of our constitutional democracy under Trump's immigration crackdown. Families, he argued, were being forcibly separated, and immigrants were being denied due process.
Reacting to the arrest, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin contended that Lander had assaulted law enforcement and impeded a federal officer. McLaughlin condemned politicians for undermining law enforcement safety to garner viral attention, asserting that nobody is immune to the law, and those who lay a hand on an officer will face the consequences.
However, Lander emphatically denied the allegation of assault. A spokesperson for the Manhattan US attorney's office confirmed that they were investigating Lander’s actions at the federal building on that day.
Preceding the arrest, a video surfaced on Lander's personal account, exhibiting him being led into an elevator by masked, plainclothes men in backward baseball caps. One agent donned a vest that read "police federal agent."
In response to questions about the arrest, Governor Hochul dismissed the incident as "bullshit." Voiceing her indignation, Hochul questioned the motives of apprehending an elected official who had been escorting frightened individuals into the courthouse for weeks.
This arrest of Brad Lander has been accompanied by a worrying pattern of immigrant arrests at courthouses across the nation following hearings. Previously, US Senator Alex Padilla was forcefully brought to the ground and handcuffed by security in Los Angeles after attempting to question US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem regarding ICE raids that triggered large-scale protests in the city.
In the aftermath of his arrest, Brad Lander has expressed concerns about the intersection of politics, general-news events, and crime-and-justice, stating that the rule of law and constitutional democracy appear to be eroding under President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. The arrest of elected officials like Lander at courthouses has become an increasingly contentious issue, with US Senator Alex Padilla previously being handcuffed at a hearing in Los Angeles.
