Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reportedly reinstated an officer on Tuesday who had been initially relieved of his duties after footage showed an illegal immigrant’s wife falling to the ground during his altercation with her.
A viral video from Sept. 25 showed the woman, Monica Moreta-Galarza, falling flat on her back after the officer appeared to grab her by the wrist inside Manhattan’s lower immigration court. After initially relieving the officer of his duties, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reinstated him after conducting a preliminary review of the incident, CBS News reported.
DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin initially called the officer’s conduct “unacceptable and beneath the men and women of ICE,” in a statement from Sept. 26.
“Our ICE law enforcement are held to the highest professional standards and this officer is being relieved of current duties as we conduct a full investigation,” McLaughlin said.
The incident took place as Moreta-Galarza and her daughter clung to her husband, an illegal immigrant from Ecuador, as agents attempted to take him into custody. Moreta-Galarza then confronted the officer arresting her husband, and one of the officers was seen grabbing her hair as someone said, “Just grab her, grab her and pull her away.” The agents successfully detained her husband.
Another video shows Moreta-Galarza touching the officer as she demanded in Spanish that they take her too. Following the incident, he ordered that she be taken out of the building.
Moreta-Galarza’s husband has been identified as Ruben Abelardo Ortiz-Lopez, who entered the U.S. illegally in March 2024, according to CBS News. The agency said that he was arrested in June by local authorities for “assault and criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation.” Moreza-Galarza is also in the U.S. illegally and is facing deportation proceedings.
“President Trump and Secretary Noem are not going to allow criminal illegal aliens to terrorize American citizens,” a DHS official told CBS News. “If you come to our country illegally and break our laws, we will arrest you and you will never return.”
Democratic New York Rep. Dan Goldman — who represents a portion of Manhattan — requested in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi that the incident be investigated and look into possible criminal charges against the officer. He accused the officer of “violently and unnecessarily” assaulting the woman.
ICE and DHS did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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