ICE Officer Placed on Leave After Federal Plaza Shoving

An ICE officer has been placed on administrative leave after video showed him shoving an Ecuadorian woman, Monica Moreta-Galarza, to the floor outside an immigration hearing at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan, where her husband was being detained. The footage appears to show a plainclothes officer pushing her into a wall and onto the ground as her children stood nearby; she hit the back of her head, was taken to a hospital and was later discharged. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called the conduct "unacceptable and beneath" ICE and said a full investigation is underway to determine any further discipline. The incident prompted outrage from New York officials, including Comptroller Brad Lander and Rep. Dan Goldman. Critics say the episode underscores broader concerns and legal challenges over ICE’s increased presence and arrests in and around immigration courthouses.