Tell the Media: Call Out ICE’s Abuse of Power

This week, New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was dragged, cuffed, and detained by masked ICE agents — for the “crime” of asking to see a judicial warrant.

In videos now circulating widely, Lander can be seen calmly linking arms with an immigrant court defendant and requesting legal documentation from federal agents — a basic, lawful request. Instead of providing a warrant, ICE shoved Lander against a wall and detained him without charges.

Let’s be clear: this wasn’t just an overstep. It was a terrifying breach of power — a show of force meant to silence protest, criminalize oversight, and intimidate elected officials.

But instead of sounding the alarm, much of the mainstream media is treating this like a simple clash or spectacle. That framing is dangerous. When ICE agents detain a sitting citywide official without cause, it’s not just news — it’s a constitutional crisis.

This is political intimidation, plain and simple. And if it goes unchecked, no one who challenges federal authority — not journalists, not immigrants, not elected leaders — will be safe from retaliation.

Add your name to demand the media report this for what it is: an authoritarian overreach, not a political stunt. Silence in moments like this enables the next abuse.