An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who was initially relieved of his duties after being captured on video pushing a woman to the ground outside an immigration court in New York City has been returned to duty, two U.S. officials familiar with the matter told CBS News.
The officials, who requested anonymity to discuss an internal move that has not been publicly announced, said the ICE officer was placed back on duty after a preliminary review of the incident.
CBS News reached out to representatives for ICE, the Department of Homeland Security and the White House requesting comment.
The move is a striking about-face, just a few days after the DHS released a statement denouncing the officer’s conduct as “unacceptable and beneath the men and women of ICE.”
“Our ICE law enforcement are held to the highest professional standards and this officer is being relieved of current duties as we conduct a full investigation,” the department said in its statement on Friday. It’s unclear where that investigation stands.
The ICE officer’s actions garnered national attention last week, after videos surfaced on social media depicting his confrontation with a visibly upset Ecuadoran woman at the 26 Federal Plaza building, which houses Manhattan’s immigration court.
The confrontation appeared to have started when the woman and her daughter tried to cling to her husband, whom federal immigration officers were attempting to take into custody. Officials were captured on video trying to separate the family, and one of the officers was seen grabbing the woman’s hair. Footage shows the husband was ultimately detained by federal agents.
Another video depicts the woman confronting the ICE officer who was initially relieved of his duties. Visibly distraught, she confronts him. “Take me, too,” she is heard saying in Spanish. Video appears to show the woman touching the officer with her hands. He tells her not to touch him.
The officer is then captured on camera pushing the woman to the floor in front of her children and a crowd of journalists and federal and court officials. The ICE officer is heard saying “adios” — or goodbye — several times during the altercation.
In a statement shared Monday, ICE identified the woman’s husband as Ruben Abelardo Ortiz-Lopez, saying he illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in March 2024. The agency said he came onto ICE’s radar after being arrested in June by local authorities for “assault and criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation.”
ICE said the woman is also in the U.S. unlawfully and faces deportation proceedings.
Soon after the videos of the altercation emerged, New York Rep. Dan Goldman and New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, both Democrats, urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the ICE officer and explore “potential prosecution.” Goldman accused the ICE officer of “violently” assaulting the woman from Ecuador.
“Not only should this individual no longer work for the United States government, but the Department of Justice should aggressively enforce the criminal laws against him, consistent with the precedents set by this administration,” Goldman said in a statement.
