Overview

• Brad Lander, a Democratic candidate for New York City mayor, was detained by ICE agents on June 17 as he intervened to prevent a migrant’s arrest at a Manhattan immigration court.
• The Department of Homeland Security alleges Lander assaulted and obstructed federal officers, defending the arrest as necessary to protect law enforcement safety.
• Video footage shows agents forcibly separating Lander from the migrant, pressing him against a wall and handcuffing him after he demanded to see a judicial warrant.
• Lander’s campaign said he was held in a courthouse cell typically used for migrants and prosecutors have not yet announced any formal charges.
• The incident deepens clashes between Democratic politicians and ICE over President Trump’s immigration policies just days before the New York City mayoral primary.