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NYC Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander arrested at immigration courthouse [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-06-17
There is another Daily Kos diary on the story here.
And a second one.
And a third one.
The people arresting Lander had POLICE ERO on their backs. This is ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations.
Here's a video of the arrest on a Bluesky account.
New York Times says he was escorting a migrant out of the building to prevent his arrest. ICE agents, some wearing masks, try to separate Lander from the migrant and Lander say, "I will let go when you show me a judicial warrant."
The agents separate them and push Lander toward the elevator and put handcuffs on him.
He yells, "You don't have the authority to arrest US citizens. I'm not obstructing. I'm standing right here in the hallway. I asked to see the judicial warrant."
Supposedly they don't need a warrant to make arrests in immigration courts because they are public spaces. I'm sure that's wrong, but it was espoused by immigration lawyers.
He's being held on the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza, where migrants arrested by ICE are detained.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin in a statement said Lander was "arrested for assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer." And then she launched into what is now a standard speech about ice agents suffering a 413% increase in assaults. It's like Trump quoting numbers. They mean absolutely nothing.
This tactic of ice agents standing outside of courtrooms and waiting for migrants whose cases were being heard, and then arresting them, is now a standard operating practice. The migrants are there to have their cases heard, like for asylum. But what happens is that their cases get dismissed, and then they don't have any status. ICE can then arrest them.
Brad's wife, Meg Barnette started a 42 minute news conference (YouTube) outside the building.
Meg said, "This is a place where the rule of law is supposed to work. I was able to call our attorney and retain him immediately for Brad. Because we have the connections and the means to do so. Nobody else in those courtrooms has that. I am confident that Brad's going to be out soon...This is just one more example of Brad's values in action. He doesn't just talk the talk. He walks the walk. He cares about what happens to people."
There were a lot of masked and unmasked law enforcement besides ICE and ICE ERO at the building. There were agents from the FBI and Treasury Dept. according to reporters at the scene.
Just yesterday, Trump promised to go after Democratic sanctuary cities. It looks like they may have decided to start with New York.
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[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/6/17/2328623/-NYC-Comptroller-and-mayoral-candidate-Brad-Lander-arrested-at-immigration-courthouse?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web
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