Rep. Jerry Nadler wants House probe after DHS handcuffs aide in N.Y. office
June 2 (UPI) -- U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler said Monday he wants a congressional investigation after a Department of Homeland Security officer handcuffed a staff member at the Democrat's office in New York in the same building as immigration court.
Nadler told CNN he will send House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a letter requesting an investigation and hearing into the matter, including testimony from HHS Secretary Kristi Noem. Nadler is a former chairman of that committee.
On Wednesday, activists were protesting outside the Varick Immigration Court on a different floor of Nadler's office in opposition to the detention of migrants by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Nadler posted Sunday on X that President Donald Trump and DHS "are sowing chaos in our communities, using intimidation tactics against both citizens and non-citizens in a reckless and dangerous manner. In the most recent and deeply troubling incident, DHS agents forcefully entered my Congressional office and handcuffed a member of my staff."
He noted no arrests were made and "the situation was quickly de-escalated."
But he added: "The decision to enter a Congressional office and detain a staff member demonstrated a deeply troubling disregard for proper legal boundaries. If this can happen in a Member of Congress's office, it can happen to anyone -- and it is happening."
Nadler told CNN that DHS officers accused the staff members of "harboring rioters.
Video taken by a person inside Nadler's office, and obtained by Gothamist, shows an aide being handcuffed by an agent with the Federal Protective Service while another agent tries to access an area inside the office.
A second staffer stands in front of the agent and asks if he has a warrant.
"You're harboring rioters in the office," the federal agent told her. The handcuffed aide is heard crying while someone tries to comfort her.
DHS was "upset that some of my staff members were watching them grab immigrants emerging from an immigration court in the same building," Nadler told CNN.
HHS posted Monday on X that officers "responded to information that protesters were present" inside Nadler's office in Manhattan.
"Based on earlier incidents in a nearby facility, FPS were concerned about the safety of the federal employees in the office and went to the location to ensure the safety and wellbeing of those present," HHS said.
"Upon arrival, officers were granted entry and encountered four individuals,. Officers identified themselves and explained their intent to conduct a security check, however, one individual became verbally confrontational and physically blocked access to the office. The officers then detained the individual in the hallway for the purpose of completing the security check."
HHS said all were released without "further incident."
U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, a Democrat serving a district in New Jersey, was charged with assaulting ICE officers on May 19 during her visit to Delancey Hall ICE detention prison in Newark, N.J., on May 9.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Can Zohran Mamdani's Volunteer Army Pull Off An Election Day Upset?
This article was produced in partnership with THE CITY, a nonprofit newsroom covering New York City. On a glum Wednesday evening recently, most New Yorkers were tucked away in their apartments, avoiding the persistent drizzle. This is exactly the scenario Mohit Sani and Dylan Halper were hoping for. Halper drums a cheery knock on the door of an Upper East Side apartment. A woman named Maria steps out, pushing her yapping dog behind her. 'My name is Dylan, and this is Mohit. We're volunteers with Zohran Mamdani's campaign for mayor,' Halper begins. Just 18 years old but already a canvassing veteran, Halper is partnered up with Sani, a first-timer, so Halper takes the lead. 'Democrat or Republican?' Maria asks skeptically. She's never heard of Mamdani before. 'Democrat,' Halper reassures her, 'he wants to freeze the rent for rent-stabilized tenants.' 'That's me!' she exclaims. Soon, Maria says the magic words: 'He's got my vote.' She even thanks the two volunteers for coming. Halper and Sani are among the thousands of volunteers who are aiming to elect the 33-year-old Mamdani as the next mayor of New York City. A state Assembly member from Queens and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Mamdani is running on a platform of affordability: free buses, city-run grocery stores, universal child care and a rent freeze. So far, he's beaten expectations, emerging from a pack of progressives as a strong number two in the polls. His progressive campaign plank, delivered via slick social media videos, earned him support from the 'terminally online.' And he's maxed out his campaign contributions with individual donors: Over 27,000 people have donated to his campaign — 12,000 more than city Comptroller Brad Lander, the candidate with the next highest number of donors. To his supporters, Mamdani is a young Bernie Sanders or a socialist Barack Obama. But to his detractors, he is inexperienced, a 'show pony,' a nepo baby and even an antisemite. If elected, Mamdani would be the first Muslim mayor of New York, and his views on what he unapologetically refers to as a genocide in Gaza have made him vulnerable to attacks from pro-Israel candidates — the mainstream position for NYC politicians, who have made visits to Israel part and parcel of the job. And he's still lagging former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has been polling first in the contest before he even entered it and has maintained a solid lead since, although a recent Emerson poll has Mamdani closing the gap to single digits in the final round of a ranked choice voting tally. Cuomo has raised the most money and is backed by well-funded local super PACs called independent expenditure groups. But the Mamdani campaign is banking on one thing to set them apart: their ground game. According to the campaign, nearly 30,000 people have signed up to canvass, and they've knocked on more than 750,000 doors. Mamdani has called it 'the largest volunteer operation in NYC history.' It's certainly the largest one happening this election cycle. Mamdani's canvassers are in every borough, every night of the week. It can be a thankless task. In the city, volunteers must work their way into apartment buildings, past doormen and buzzer systems — often only to find themselves on the ground floor of one of New York's infamous walk-ups. And more often than not, no one is home. But that does not discourage Halper and Sani. Halper, a member of the DSA like Mamdani, is inspired by the candidate's vision for New York City. But like many other volunteers, he's not immune to the pull of something much more tangible — merch. All Mamdani volunteers receive a 'ZetroCard' — it looks like a MetroCard, but with spaces on the back to mark how many times they've canvassed. Halper has heard that if he fills out the card fast enough, he'll get a poster — a coveted keepsake that he can't get anywhere else. In fact, none of the campaign's swag is available for purchase — a result of New York City's campaign finance laws, according to Mamdani spokesperson Andrew Epstein. It's turned Zohran-branded items into cult collectibles — like vibrant yellow bandanas decorated with classic NYC iconography such as pigeons and hot dogs — worn by volunteers or tied onto their tote bags. And the only way to get one is to show up — something the campaign makes very easy to do. 'I've thought about volunteering for other things, and no one replies to your emails, or you have to apply and go do this thing, and then they only have one shift a week — and it's when you work,' said Anna Henderson, 25. But the Mamdani signups are simple and numerous: 'When I decided to do it, I just clicked on a day I could go in my neighborhood and just went,' Henderson said. Now, she's a seasoned Lower East Side canvasser. The low barrier to entry — and the opportunity to canvass in your own neighborhood — has benefits and drawbacks. On one hand, volunteers can pull in their own neighborhood-specific information, like a local bus that was free due to Mamdani's legislation. On the other, it leaves some neighborhoods like Williamsburg and Astoria canvass-dense, while the entire South Bronx has no canvasses at all. One field lead in The Bronx, Maxwell Dickinson, ventured out on a Saturday afternoon with a diverse group of volunteers, including multiple people over 40, a vital demographic Mamdani needs but has not yet cornered. Originally from Miami, Dickinson now lives in Riverdale. He likes to open his canvassing conversations with Mamdani's free bus platform and mentions universal child care if he sees a kid in the apartment. 'Personally, I've never mentioned that he's in the DSA, especially being from Miami,' Dickinson said, referring to that city's socialism-skeptical Cuban population. 'But maybe that's me being paranoid.' The Bronx canvassers know that their borough is being underserved. Over coffee and pancakes at a diner, they chat after the canvass about ways to expand their operation. One volunteer said she thinks Parkchester would be receptive to Mamdani because of its large Bengali population. Another suggested that the campaign partner with local organizations to help get the word out. 'You need people who are from there,' Dickinson agreed. Mamdani is following in the footsteps — literally — of another NYC Democratic Socialist: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. In 2018, Ocasio-Cortez touted her ground game as essential to her defeat of incumbent Rep. Joseph Crowley. Her worn-down shoes, once displayed in a Cornell museum, became a symbol of how speaking to people face-to-face could make the difference for underdog candidates. (Ocasio-Cortez has not yet made an endorsement in the mayoral race.) But Ocasio-Cortez had to mobilize voters in her district in The Bronx and Queens only; Mamdani needs to reach people across the five boroughs. The turnout for the congressional primary was also incredibly low — at only 11.8% of registered Democratic voters — so the supporters Ocasio-Cortez reached through her door-knocking had an outsized effect. Because Mamdani's canvasses are mostly available in neighborhoods where many volunteers live, it's easy to see where his voter base lies: Bushwick and Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, the East Village in Manhattan and Astoria in Queens offer the most frequent canvass opportunities at five days a week. But the younger, often transplant-heavy population of those neighborhoods may not actually turn out for the election. In 2021, the west side of Manhattan — from Greenwich Village up to Columbia University — had some of the highest voter turnout at between 30% to 40%, whereas Bushwick in Brooklyn saw around 14%. Plus, younger voters are notorious for staying home: Only 18% of registered Dems between 18 and 29 voted in the 2021 mayoral primary, compared to over double that percentage for 70- to 79-year-olds. The median age of a New York primary voter is 54. Some Mamdani organizers are trying to change that. At first, Myesha Choudry canvassed for Mamdani everywhere from Hillside, Queens, to Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, to Staten Island. She was especially inspired by her conversations with small business owners in Jackson Heights. 'I was literally speaking about New York City politics in Bangla, in my native language, to New Yorkers who had been here for decades and decades,' she said. But unlike those she spoke to, Choudry wanted to reach people who haven't lived in the city long enough to get a feel for local politics — and may not plan to stay long enough to care. 'I feel like it's so important for young adults who have been living the dream in New York to uplift New York as well,' explained Choudry. To get young New Yorkers off of their phones and into their communities, she was part of creating Hot Girls 4 Zohran. The organization, which is not affiliated with the campaign, hosts picnics, postering sessions, raves, fundraisers and, of course, canvasses. Bright and early on a Sunday morning, 15 of the Hot Girls chatted and cheered as they made their way down Central Park West, papering lampposts with pink posters that paired a Mamdani plank with an instruction not to rank Cuomo — a position the official canvassers take, as well. 'Cuomo's literally hiding from New Yorkers because he knows if he's confronted about his platform, he's screwed,' one said, taping a poster. Cuomo has appeared at very few candidate forums, and is not taking an on-the-street campaign approach. 'I saw something like 'New York deserves a hot mayor,' and that's true. Hot girls deserve a hot mayor.' Compared to Mamdani and most of the field, Cuomo has avoided many public appearances, and for some, the sexual harassment allegations that drove him out of office — which Cuomo continues to deny — may be disqualifying. But his campaign has amassed a formidable slate of boosters. Cuomo has picked up major endorsements from large unions — even those who called for his resignation in 2021 — whose money, influence and members go a long way in city elections. He's also focused on courting Black clergy members in a bid to win over a demographic that helped propel Mayor Eric Adams to victory last cycle. 'The benefits of what he's doing is to maintain a frontrunner status — to not let opponents attack you personally,' explained political consultant Hank Sheinkopf. 'They're empty voices talking into a vacuum, and he's not responding to them, which makes them less consequential.' Of course, the canvassers want Mamdani to win. And increasingly, at least to the volunteers, his campaign seems like less of a long shot. 'I am not under any illusions that he has it in the bag,' said Henderson from the Lower East Side. 'But I don't think it's impossible. It doesn't feel like a lost cause,' she said. 'I guess I'm canvass-pilled.' After his first time canvassing, the experience on the Upper East Side has left Sani more energized than when he began. 'I look at my past self, and I see someone who watched John Oliver, watched 'The Daily Show,' watched Hasan Minhaj, and I felt politically active — but when I look back, I did nothing,' Sani mused. 'I was angry all day, but nothing happened from that anger.' 'Now, I do not watch John Oliver, I do not watch 'The Daily Show,' I do not watch Hasan Minhaj. And I'm a thousand times more politically active,' he continued. 'And then I can go to bed at night, and I'm not stressed existentially about it.' But inspiring 29,000 canvassers may not be enough. With early voting starting on June 14 and primary day just three weeks away, the volunteer army still has a lot of work to do to inspire voters — and it's running out of time. Inside the cramped vestibule of an Upper East Side apartment, Sani hits the buzzer. He's pushed a few so far, with no answer. But this time, a garbled voice comes from the other side, asking: Who's there? 'I'm here to talk about Zohran,' Sani says, rushing through the words. But the voice on the other end is confused: 'What?' 'I'm here to talk to tenants about Zohran Mamdani?' Sani tries again. No acknowledgement. One last try: 'I'm here to talk about the election?' 'Oh,' says the voice on the other end, sounding disappointed. 'You woke me up. I was sleeping.' 'I'm sorry for waking you up,' Sani says. He's genuinely contrite and, turning to Halper, asks, 'Did I do something wrong?'
Fox News
33 minutes ago
- Fox News
Trump's DHS says Biden released 'barbaric' illegal immigrant now accused of heinous crime
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Wednesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a detainer in Massachusetts for a criminal illegal immigrant charged with raping a child with force in a crime that was captured on video. Lorenzo Lopez Alcario, a 30-year-old Guatemalan national, accused of tying up and brutally sexually assaulting a young girl in a video that was ultimately found by the girl's mother, had the ICE detainer placed on him this week, according to a press release from DHS. The press release states that Alcario first entered the United States illegally on an unknown date before being arrested in 2017 in Arlington, Virginia, for drug possession. Later that year, in September, Alcario was ordered by a judge to be removed by the United States and was deported by aircraft on Sept. 28, 2017. However, according to DHS, Alcario re-entered the United States in June 2022 and was released into the country by the Biden administration despite his criminal history and previous deportation. In a statement, Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin made the case that Alcario should never have been allowed back into the United States and that the ICE detainer is aimed at ensuring Alcario does not victimize anyone else in the future. "Lorenzo Lopez Alcario is a pedophile illegal alien from Guatemala who should've never been in the U.S. in the first place," McLaughlin said. "Despite his previous criminal charges and deportation, President Biden released this barbaric criminal into American communities in 2022. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, ICE lodged a detainer to ensure this criminal illegal alien will not be allowed to terrorize American citizens and will deport this child predator to prevent further victims." ICE has been active in Massachusetts in recent weeks, including via Operation Patriot, which resulted in the arrest of nearly 1,500 illegals, including murderers, rapists, drug traffickers and child sex predators, in the deep blue sanctuary city-heavy state. Sources at ICE told Fox News that 790 of those arrested had criminal convictions or charges and 277 had final removal or deportation orders. The sources said that all the targeted criminals were roaming the streets of Massachusetts cities freely before being apprehended.
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Replacement chosen for Washington state senator who died
(Photo Courtesy of Victoria Hunt campaign) Democratic state Rep. Victoria Hunt will move from the House to the Senate in the Washington Legislature after the King County Council appointed her on Tuesday to replace the late Sen. Bill Ramos. The council also chose Zach Hall, an Issaquah City Council member, as Hunt's replacement in the state House. The Senate seat will be on the ballot in a special election in November, with the winner serving through 2026. Hunt is a candidate. Republican Chad Magendanz, a former two-term state representative for the district, is opposing her. Hall will serve through the 2026 election because the appointment is occurring after the filing period for this year's elections closed. Ramos passed away unexpectedly while on a trail run near his home in Issaquah on April 19, a week before the legislative session ended. He was 69. He was elected to the House in 2018 then won a Senate seat last year. Ramos was one of the Legislature's leading voices on transportation issues in the 2025 session. Hunt, a Democrat, was sworn into the Senate shortly after being selected for the seat in the 5th Legislative District which includes parts of Issaquah, Black Diamond, Covington, and part of Snoqualmie. Hunt was elected to the House in 2024. She is a scientist who holds a doctorate in ecology and previously served on the Issaquah City Council. Her seatmate Rep. Lisa Callan, D-Issaquah, endorsed her. 'With these tools and experiences I have been able to advance policies at the state level to meet the needs of our growing community,' Hunt said. Hall was elected to the Issaquah City Council in 2019. Prior to that he was a legislative assistant and a campaign manager for Callan. 'I have the background needed in the district, in the legislature, and in local government,' Hall said, adding that he wants to help build a Washington that's safe, affordable, green and full of opportunities. 'Bill Ramos set a high bar for public service and he had an unstoppable drive for the people of our district and we are all united in our commitment to honor his legacy,' Hall said.
