Media365
Federal agents at a Manhattan immigration court clashed with journalists on Tuesday, injuring one and raising renewed concerns over the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement.Visual journalist L Vural Elibol of the Turkish news agency Anadolu was shoved to the floor outside an elevator at 26 Federal Plaza, striking his head.He was attended to by a bystander and a nurse before being taken away on a stretcher in a neck brace and transported to a hospital for evaluation, as per news agency AP.The other journalists involved—Dean Moses of amNewYork and freelance photographer Olga Fedorova—were not seriously hurt.The confrontation unfolded as federal agents, responding to an immigrant from Peru allegedly in the US without legal standing, were followed by journalists into an elevator on the 12th floor, reported The New York Times. Moses said agents “grabbed me by my arms, and started pulling me out of the elevator. I tried to hold on, but I got shoved out”. Video footage showed Fedorova falling backwards toward Elibol during the chaos, capturing the rapid escalation.The incident comes days after another federal agent was caught on video pushing a woman into a wall while her husband was being detained, triggering an investigation by Homeland Security. Both events took place in a public area frequented by immigrants, journalists, and activists documenting court proceedings.Homeland security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin defended the agents’ actions, citing safety concerns after prior threats and incidents, including a sniper attack on an ICE field office in Dallas last week. She said agents had repeatedly instructed journalists to move back, and described the crowd as “agitators” obstructing operations, as per AP.“Rioters and sanctuary politicians who encourage individuals to interfere with arrests are actively creating hostile environments that put officers, detainees and the public in harm’s way”, McLaughlin said.“Officers repeatedly told the crowd of agitators and journalists to get back, move, and get out of the elevator”, she added.Elected officials criticised the use of force. New York Gov Kathy Hochul called it “abuse of law-abiding immigrants and the reporters telling their stories”. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and City Comptroller Brad Lander condemned the incident, urging the NYPD to intervene to prevent further violence. State Assemblyman and NYC mayoral candidate, Zohran Mamdani, said, “We cannot accept or normalise what has now become routine violence at 26 Federal Plaza”.Fedorova noted that journalists have routinely worked in the hallway without incident and that the agents did not announce their actions or restrictions before making arrests. “If they tell us to get out, to not cross a certain line, we follow their orders. In this case, it was not clear to anyone that this was a detention at all,” she said.
