New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander is arrested in front of immigration court

New York.— The city comptroller of New York and Democratic candidate for mayor, Brad Lander, was arrested this Tuesday by federal agents in the immigration court building in Manhattan, after linking arms with an immigrant whom the authorities were trying to detain.

Lander had gone to the place to observe the immigration hearings and provide support to people at risk of deportation. However, after leaving one of the rooms and intertwining with one of the accused, he was intercepted by officers who accused him of obstruction. A reporter from the Associated Press agency witnessed the arrest and recorded the moment when several agents tried to separate him from the immigrant for more than 40 seconds before handcuffing him. "You're obstructing," one of the officers is heard saying in the video, while Lander responds: "I'm not obstructing, I'm here in the hallway." In subsequent statements, his wife, Meg Barnette, denounced that they were both surrounded by several federal agents and that she was pushed for trying to intervene. "What I saw was shocking and unacceptable. What I saw today was not the Rule of Law," she stated. Lander, who remains campaigning in the midst of the Democratic primary process, was led in handcuffs through the building by federal agents, some dressed in civilian clothes and others wearing tactical vests with the identification of "federal agent". The detention occurs in a context of growing tension from activists and local officials regarding federal immigration policy. In recent months, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents (ICE) have carried out large-scale arrests outside of the courts, often after the closure of cases that enable expedited deportation. "They are eliminating any opportunity for due process," Lander told reporters hours before his arrest. The case has generated strong political reactions, especially as it occurs a few days before the primary elections in New York. From his campaign, a statement was issued stating: "While escorting a defendant out of immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza, Brad was taken by masked agents and detained by ICE." Lander's arrest follows another similar episode that occurred last month in Newark, New Jersey, when Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested for allegedly trespassing on a federal facility during a protest against immigrant detention conditions. That case was later dismissed. Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor the FBI have offered official statements regarding Lander's arrest. Early voting for the primaries is already underway in New York City and the election is scheduled for next week.