New York City Comptroller and Democrat mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Tuesday as he allegedly attempted to shield an illegal alien from being detained by federal agents inside a federal immigration courthouse in Manhattan.
The incident occurred Tuesday morning as Lander showed up to the courthouse to observe immigration hearings involving illegal aliens facing deportation. After one such illegal alien left a courtroom, Lander walked arm-in-arm with him as ICE agents sought to arrest him.
AmNY reports that Lander moved in to shield the illegal alien from being arrested by the ICE agents, which prompted the agents to take Lander into custody:
As the agents moved to pull Lander away and take the immigrant into custody, the comptroller shouted, “Show me your warrant, show me your badge.” [Emphasis added]
“I will let go if you show me a judicial warrant,” he repeated. “I would like to see the warrant, and then I will let go.” [Emphasis added]
Seconds later, one of the officers said, “Take him in.” The agents then forcibly removed Lander, pushed him against the wall and cuffed him. [Emphasis added]
In a statement to CBS News, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Lander was impeding a federal officer and had assaulted an agent.
“Our heroic ICE law enforcement officers face a 413% increase in assaults against them — it is wrong that politicians seeking higher office undermine law enforcement safety to get a viral moment,” McLaughlin said. “No one is above the law, and if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will face consequences.”
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
