By Billal RahmanShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberImmigration agents entered a basement apartment in Queens, New York, forcibly knocked down the door, and pointed firearms at a mother and her four children, according to the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC).
The incident, captured on video, occurred on November 13 in the Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens, according to the NYIC, an immigrant advocacy group.
The NYIC said that federal agents did not announce themselves or produce a warrant. The group says the agents were looking for an individual who does not reside at that address and threatened the family that they would return to continue the search.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Newsweek that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Marshals Service attempted to serve a criminal arrest warrant for Raymundo Gabriel Huerra-Betancourt, whose record includes assault, reckless driving, and illegal re-entry. The woman in the video was the target’s cousin, DHS said.
"The criminal illegal alien listed the address as on his probation form. The address was also associated with his social security number and phone records," a spokesperson for DHS said.
...Why It Matters
The incident comes at a time when federal immigration authorities are under heightened scrutiny. ICE, the agency responsible for enforcing immigration laws and detaining individuals in the country unlawfully, has faced repeated allegations of denying due-process rights, engaging in racial profiling, and using excessive force, as the Trump administration looks to deport millions of migrants.
What To Know
A video of the incident was released by NYIC, showing the moments of forced entry and the agents’ interaction with the family inside the home.
Agents opened a bedroom door forcefully, with a flashlight directed toward a woman holding a recording device, footage from inside the home shows.
One agent brandishing a gun is heard saying, "Put your f****** hands up, stupid!"
"I have my baby, no!" A woman is heard saying.
"Then I’m coming to get you by your baby, so come out here," the agent responds.
"Officers approached the residence and knocked on the door for approximately 20 minutes, attempting to gain voluntary cooperation to enter the residence. When no response was received, officers used their training and lawfully entered the home," the DHS spokesperson told Newsweek.
"Upon entering the house, Jennifer Diaz, the target's cousin, refused to respond to the officers’ repeated knocking. Diaz refused to comply with officers’ commands despite explicitly being told to exit the room for her safety. Officers safely guided her and the children to the kitchen for their safety while they searched for the criminal target," the agency said.
The NYIC told Newsweek that "the children are 2, 8, 10 and 13 and U.S. citizens. The mom has lived in the U.S. since she was a teenager."
"ICE is a rogue agency that is lawlessly terrorizing New Yorkers," Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO, NYIC, said in a press release. "This mother of four was in her bedroom with her children when ICE violently knocked down her door, dragging her out of bed and pointing a gun at her family members.
Residents said they believed a burglary was underway and called the NYPD when the agents knocked down the door, according to the NYIC.
Immigration enforcement operations without a warrant or without announcing themselves can raise questions about Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.
What People Are Saying
Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO, New York Immigration Coalition: "The family has been traumatized by what felt to them like a home invasion—the children are fearful of leaving their mother when they go to school. Even the neighbors thought a burglary was in progress, and called the NYPD to investigate. No child should ever have to be a victim of such unlawful and ruthless behavior. The Trump administration must end its war on immigrants."
A DHS spokesperson told Newsweek: “Leave it to the media and activists to spread misleading information to demonize ICE officers as they are already facing an 8000% increase in death threats and a 1000% increase in assaults against them as they risk their lives to remove criminals."
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