ICE Assaults Multiple Journalists in New York City Immigration Courts Prompting National Outcry

Several journalists were violently assaulted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at an immigration court in New York City, resulting in injuries including a serious head injury to Anadolu Agency photographer L. Vural Elibol. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY), National Press Photographers Association, PEN America, and the New York Civil Liberties Union condemned the attacks as violations of press freedom and called for investigations and accountability. New York Governor Kathy Hochul and local officials criticized the federal officers' actions as unjustified and emblematic of broader aggressive immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump's administration. SAG-AFTRA also condemned similar ICE tactics against journalists, highlighting a recent incident where a CBS Chicago reporter was pepper-sprayed near an immigration facility. The Department of Homeland Security defended the officers, claiming they were responding to hostile environments created by agitators and members of the press. The attacks have sparked widespread concern about the safety of journalists and the erosion of First Amendment protections in coverage of immigration enforcement.