Democratic Representative Jerry Nadler from New York strongly criticized the Department of Homeland Security after one of his aides was briefly detained in his Manhattan office. The incident occurred when the aide allegedly interfered with DHS officers trying to locate protesters supporting undocumented immigrants.
Nadler’s congressional office is in the same building as an immigration courthouse in Lower Manhattan.
The confrontation escalated when the lawmaker’s aide invited two people who had been observing activities at the courthouse into the office. In a video from Gothamist, a DHS officer can be heard accusing the staffer of sheltering protesters.
The video only shows the aide being handcuffed and crying, without capturing the events that led to this situation. An officer claimed that the individual had reportedly pushed another agent.
“Do not resist,” the arresting officer states off-camera. “Stop resisting.”
Meanwhile, another DHS enforcement agent is running into further resistance.
“I’m a federal officer, we’re here checking on something,” one officer says as another aide temporarily blocks a door leading to a private area of the office. That individual requests a warrant but eventually allows officers to search the area.
DHS police handcuff a staffer of @RepJerryNadler on Wednesday in the NY rep’s Manhattan office after she allegedly pushed one of the officers.
Nadler was accused of “harboring rioters” in his office.
Another of his staffers tried ordering the officers around. She found out. pic.twitter.com/TefROCDywm
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) June 1, 2025