The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday defended its actions after officers briefly handcuffed a staffer of Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) last week.
The congressman’s district office is located in the same building as the Varick Immigration Court.
“Based on earlier incidents in a nearby facility, FPS officers were concerned about the safety of the federal employees in the office and went to the location to ensure the safety and well-being of those present,” the DHS said.
“Upon arrival, officers were granted entry and encountered four individuals.”
FSP officers identified themselves and their intent to conduct a security check when one person became “verbally confrontational” and physically blocked their access to the congressman’s office, according to the department.
“The officers then detained the individual in the hallway for the purpose of completing the security check,” DHS said, adding that all of them were eventually released without further incident.
NTD, the sister media outlet of The Epoch Times, reached out to DHS for additional details but did not receive a response by publication.
Nadler said he was shocked over the incident, saying his office was wrongfully accused of harboring rioters.
“The decision to enter a Congressional office and detain a staff member demonstrates 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.”
NTD reached out to Nadler’s office for further details but did not receive a response by publication time.
On the day of the incident, activists were protesting outside the Varick Immigration Court on a different floor of Nadler’s office in opposition to the detention of illegal immigrants by federal agents.
Nadler told CNN that “DHS was upset that some of my staff members were watching them grab immigrants emerging from an immigration court in the same building, a floor below.”
The congressman said his staffers were accused of aiding rioters, but he said his office simply invited migrant advocates up to his office.
Nadler said that agents needed a warrant to enter his office and didn’t have one.
He has vowed to formally request a probe and hearing into the incident to House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and also wants DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to testify about the matter.
The latest incident comes as tensions have escalated between Democrat lawmakers and federal agencies amid the Trump administration’s ongoing crackdown on illegal immigration.
Last month, Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) was charged with assaulting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers at Delaney Hall immigration detention facility in Newark. Democrats have also expressed concerns over federal agents targeting courthouses to arrest illegal immigrants without due process.
Federal immigration authorities have maintained that they are acting within their authority and targeting those who are in the United States illegally.
ICE recently wrapped up its largest targeted enforcement operation to date, arresting nearly 1,500 illegal immigrants in Massachusetts during May.
