Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) is demanding an investigation into the detention of one of his staffers as Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers entered his office.
The Wednesday incident took place as protestors gathered in a federal building that is home to both Nadler’s office and an immigration court.
“DHS was upset that some of my staff members were watching them grab immigrants emerging from an immigration court in the same building, a floor — a floor below. And they were upset that my staff invited some of the observers up to my office,” Nadler said during a Monday morning interview on CNN.
“They then came up to the office and demanded entrance. One of my staff members said, you can’t come in here, you need a warrant. They said, no, we don’t need a warrant, which is incorrect. This is — and they barged in. And, in barging in, one of the officers, a very big, heavy-set fellow, pushed my aide, a very petite young woman, and they then said that she pushed back and they shackled her and took her downstairs. And she was obviously traumatized,” he added.
“Now, the fact is that this was totally unacceptable. The tactics were totally unacceptable.”
In the episode, first reported by Gothamist and captured on video, a DHS officer is seen handcuffing an aide, who is crying. Another DHS officer tries to gain access to part of Nadler’s office, while a second staffer stands in the doorway, briefly blocking the agent from entering.
The federal agent tells the second staffer that she is “harboring rioters in the office” and denies her request to see a warrant, saying as he walks by her that he doesn’t need one.
Nadler, the former ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said he has been in touch with Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
Jordan’s staff did not respond to request for comment from The Hill.
“I’m asking for an investigation. I’m communicating with Jim Jordan, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, demanding an investigation of this incident – of generally – of ICE tactics, which are, frankly, very threatening to liberty,” Nadler said.
