 "Who is Brad Lander, the New York City mayoral candidate dragged and arrested by federal agents?")
Brad Lander, New York City’s Comptroller and a candidate for mayor, was briefly detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Tuesday.
The incident took place at Manhattan’s immigration tribunal, where Lander had gone to support a migrant named Edgardo during a hearing. According to his wife, he was escorting Edgardo out of the court when some masked agents suddenly intervened.
“While escorting a defendant out of immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza, Brad was taken by masked agents and detained by ICE,” Lander’s wife, Meg Barnette, wrote on X.
A video recorded by a member of Lander’s staff captured the moment. In the clip, Lander is seen being handcuffed by agents, visibly upset, and insisting they had no authority to detain him.
The timing of the arrest, just days before the June 24 Democratic mayoral primary, has sparked widespread attention, placing Lander in the public eye.
So, who exactly is Brad Lander? And how did this confrontation with ICE unfold inside the courthouse? Here’s what we know.
Who is Brad Lander?
Brad Lander is currently serving as New York City Comptroller, a role he assumed in 2022. As Comptroller, he manages the city’s finances, audits city agencies, and oversees the city’s massive pension funds.
Before that, Lander spent 12 years on the City Council, representing Brooklyn’s 39th District from 2009 to 2021.
According to his campaign website, Lander describes himself as “a dad, a Brooklynite, and a lifelong public servant who has spent his career solving New Yorkers’ problems.”
Born in Missouri and now 55 years old, Lander built a reputation as a strong progressive voice. He was one of the founding members of the City Council’s Progressive Caucus and has long championed causes like affordable housing, paid sick leave, and police reform.
Lander, a democrat candidate, said his campaign is focused on making the city safer, tackling the affordability crisis, and improving how City Hall is run.
His top priorities include getting “seriously mentally ill people off the streets and subways” and building more affordable housing. “He will do that by bringing competence and integrity back to City Hall,” according to his campaign.
He also spoke about public safety during an appearance on Fox News’ show Good Day New York, saying, “New Yorkers deserve a safe city on the subways in their neighbourhoods, so we’re going to recruit, retain and support officers to confront violent crime and get illegal guns off the street.”
Known for standing with immigrants, Lander has regularly shown up at immigration courts in support of undocumented New Yorkers, who are facing potential deportation. This time it was his third visit.
According to his campaign website, he lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children, Marek and Rosa, who have completed their public school in New York City.
Lander’s dramatic arrest by ICE agents
Brad Lander was at New York City’s main immigration courthouse at 26 Federal Plaza on Tuesday, observing immigration proceedings of Edgardo, a migrant who was facing potential deportation.
Videos taken by reporters show Lander standing beside a migrant man in a hallway on the courthouse’s 12th floor. Suddenly, several plainclothes officers, some masked, pushed past a crowd to arrest the man. Lander can be seen stepping in and demanding to see a judicial warrant.
“I will let go when you show me the judicial warrant,” Lander says in the video, placing his hand on the migrant’s body.
The agents tried to pull him away. The situation escalated as Lander continued questioning their authority. “You don’t have the authority to arrest US citizens,” he says. “I’m not obstructing. I’m standing right here in the hallway. I asked to see the judicial warrant.”
Eventually, the agents forced him back against a wall near the elevators and handcuffed him.
🚨BREAKING: ICE just ARRESTED Democrat NYC Mayoral candidate Brad Lander ON CAMERA for obstructing ICE operations.
— Bo Loudon (@BoLoudon) June 17, 2025
This is what I voted for.
ARREST THESE CRIMINALS!🔥
pic.twitter.com/2ScIawhku6
According to immigration lawyers cited by The New York Times, agents are not required to show judicial warrants to make arrests in immigration courts, since they are considered public spaces.
Lander was then taken into an elevator by ICE agents, accompanied by his security detail, and held for several hours before being released that afternoon.
His wife, Meg Barnette, who was also at the courthouse, criticised the arrest.
“I feel really rattled and scared, and my husband is a candidate for mayor, is an elected citywide official, is a US citizen, has a US passport, and I know in all likelihood he’s going to be OK,” she said. “All the other folks in that building are risking having their families torn apart with inadequate explanation. It’s an abomination.”
Following the arrest, Governor Kathy Hochul and other prominent Democrats appeared at the federal offices to demand his release. Meanwhile, the New York State Republican Party dismissed the episode as “performative nonsense.”
At a press conference, Lander responded to accusations that the incident was staged: “Seriously? I did not come today expecting to be arrested. But I really think I failed today because my goal was really to get Edgardo out of the building.”
Why was Brad Lander detained?
According to a statement from Tricia McLaughlin, spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, Lander “was arrested for assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer.”
“Our heroic ICE law enforcement officers face a 413 per cent increase in assaults against them,” she said. “It is wrong that politicians seeking higher office undermine law enforcement safety to get a viral moment. No one is above the law, and if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will face consequences.”
The Manhattan US attorney’s office later said it was investigating Lander’s conduct, but has not confirmed whether criminal charges will be filed.
Lander’s arrest had prompted swift condemnation from leading Democrats.
Former Governor Andrew Cuomo, also a mayoral candidate, called it “the latest example of the extreme thuggery of Trump’s ICE” in a post on X.
In a statement, state Attorney General Letitia James also criticised “the administration’s rampant targeting of New Yorkers” and called the episode “a grotesque escalation of tensions.”
Notably, the episode came just days after California Senator Alex Padilla was reportedly detained and roughed up by federal agents after questioning Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a press conference.
With input from agencies
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