Kayla Epsteinin New York City and
Leire VentasBBC News Mundo
Getty Images
Monica Moreta Galarza was thrown to the ground when her husband was arrested outside immigration court in New York City
Monica Moreta Galarza felt relieved after her husband’s routine immigration hearing at New York City’s 26 Federal Plaza.
A judge had ordered Rubén Abelardo Ortiz López to return to court in May, and she believed that meant a reprieve from his potential deportation to Ecuador.
Instead, as soon as they stepped out of the courtroom with their children, she was torn from her husband’s arms and thrown to the ground by immigration officers as they detained him.
“One of them charged at me so aggressively that I was terrified, and he ended up throwing me to the ground,” Ms Moreta Galarza told BBC News Mundo in Spanish. “They treated us like animals.”
The incident, which has since gone viral, led to one immigration agent being temporarily suspended. But it is not an isolated occurrence. The BBC witnessed similar incidents at the court house, while others – including an aggressive encounter between Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the media – have sparked public outcry.
ICE’s operations inside the building have created a charged, tense environment, attorneys said.
“I would honestly sum it up as just traumatic,” said Allison Cutler, a New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) attorney who works at 26 Federal Plaza.
“It’s traumatic for the clients we’re serving, for the families getting ripped apart.”
Getty Images
Federal immigration officers wearing masks and sunglasses detain a man who appeared for his hearing at 26 Federal Plaza in New York City on 30 July
While many of the detentions at 26 Federal Plaza are swift and non-violent, reporters and lawyers have witnessed several chaotic episodes in recent weeks.
On a Tuesday in late August, the BBC watched as a dozen officers waiting outside a courtroom descended on a man, two women and a small boy. They quickly detained the man, and a melee ensued as the group fought to stay together.
The crying woman, clinging to the detained man, was wrenched away by a federal officer – who appeared to be the same man who pulled Ms Moreta Galarza from her husband – as the man was carted off.
The judge closed the courtroom and, as a result, the BBC could not verify details of the case. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not provide details of the man’s current status, but stated that the agency “takes its responsibility to protect children seriously”.
They added that ICE gives parents the option of being removed with their children or having them placed with a designated individual.
After the images of the incident with Ms Moreta Galarza spread on social med
Read More