City Comptroller Brad Lander on Tuesday was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials as he was walking out of immigration court in Manhattan with an asylum seeker, according to his campaign spokesperson.
“While escorting a defendant out of immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza, Brad was taken by masked agents and detained by ICE. This is still developing and we are monitoring the situation closely,” said Dora Pekec, Lander’s mayoral campaign spokesperson.
He was released on Tuesday afternoon after being held for several hours.
In a video of the confrontation posted on Lander's social media account, the comptroller is heard saying to ICE officials: "You don't have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens," as he is handcuffed.
Lander, who is running in the June 24 primary election, repeatedly asks the agents for a judicial warrant.
"Where are you taking me? With what authority?" Lander says in the video.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said the comptroller's arrest "is profoundly unacceptable."
"Arresting Comptroller Lander for the simple act of standing up for immigrants and their civil rights is a shocking abuse of power," James said in a statement. "No one should face fear and intimidation in a courthouse, and this is a grotesque escalation of tensions. The [Trump] administration’s rampant targeting of New Yorkers only makes our communities less safe.”
Former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running against Lander in the primary, said the arrest was "the latest example of the extreme thuggery of Trump's ICE out of control."
"Make no mistake: this kind of conduct is the direct result of Mayor Eric Adams handing the keys of our great city over to Donald Trump," Cuomo said in a statement.
