Journalist Hospitalized After Federal Agents Shove Reporters at NYC Immigration Court

In New York City on Tuesday, federal agents pushed journalists during an arrest at 26 Federal Plaza, leading to one journalist's hospitalization. L. Vural Elibol, a visual journalist with the Turkish news agency Anadolu, struck his head on the floor after being shoved by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. He was treated at the scene and transported to the hospital wearing a neck brace. Two other journalists, Dean Moses of amNewYork and freelance photographer Olga Fedorova, were also pushed but did not sustain serious injuries.

Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated that the agents were "swarmed by agitators and members of the press, which obstructed operations." She added that officers had repeatedly instructed the crowd to "get back, move, and get out of the elevator."

Moses recounted that he was attempting to photograph agents arresting a woman who had just left immigration court when masked agents grabbed him and pushed him out of the elevator. Fedorova noted that photographers had worked in the hallway outside the immigration court for months without incident and that the agents did not announce any restrictions or clarify that they were making an arrest.

This incident occurred days after a federal agent at the same Manhattan immigration court was recorded shoving an Ecuadorian woman into a wall and onto the floor following her husband's arrest. Both confrontations took place in publicly accessible areas of the federal building, which are often occupied by immigrants attending hearings, agents making arrests, activists protesting, and journalists documenting events.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul condemned the agents' use of force, stating, "This abuse of law-abiding immigrants and the reporters telling their stories must end." State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani also criticized the incident, saying, "We cannot accept or normalize what has now become routine violence at 26 Federal Plaza. It has no place in our city."