Congressman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) issued a
statement following a DHS raid on his Manhattan office, during which one of his staffers was detained. In
footage originally published by
Gothamist, DHS officers can be seen aggressively handcuffing a crying woman and forcing entry into Nadler's office without a warrant despite the protests of his staff.
Nadler's New York office is in the same building as an immigration court, where protests took place against Trump's mass deportation policies on Wednesday. DHS officers claimed that Nadler's staff was "harboring rioters" as their reason to enter and search without a warrant.
DHS agents forcefully entered my Congressional office and handcuffed a member of my staff," Nadler said in a statement, adding that he was "alarmed by the aggressive and heavy-handed tactics DHS is employing in New York City and across the country."
"President Trump and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are sowing chaos in our communities, using intimidation tactics against both citizens and non-citizens in a reckless and dangerous manner."
"If this can happen in a Member of Congress’s office, it can happen to anyone — and it is happening," Nadler continued.
DHS officials said officers of the Federal Protective Service were responding to reports of protesters in Nadler's office, because they were "concerned about the safety of the federal employees."
This contradicts the behavior of the officers themselves, who can clearly be seen handcuffing a frightened member of Nadler's staff. The DHS statement is also discredited by the officer conducting the raid, who can be heard in the video saying they were entering because the staffers were "harboring rioters."
