DHS reinstates ICE officer who shoved Ecuadoran woman on video, three days after calling conduct 'unacceptable'

On September 29, 2025, DHS quietly returned to full duty an ICE officer who had been caught on video shoving an Ecuadoran woman to the ground outside Manhattan's immigration court — just three days after the department publicly called his conduct "unacceptable and beneath the men and women of ICE" and announced a "full investigation." Two U.S. officials familiar with the decision told CBS News the officer was reinstated after only a "preliminary review," with no public announcement.

The original incident drew widespread attention when footage showed the officer pushing the distressed woman — who was trying to cling to her husband as ICE agents detained him — to the ground in front of her children and a crowd of journalists. The officer was heard saying "adios" multiple times. DHS's initial response was explicit: "Our ICE law enforcement are held to the highest professional standards and this officer is being relieved of current duties as we conduct a full investigation."

The reinstatement reversed that commitment without explanation. When CBS News asked DHS about the decision, a spokesperson did not address the officer's reinstatement but instead called the detained woman's husband a "criminal illegal alien." The deflection underscored the accountability failure: the public pledge of a "full investigation" was abandoned after media attention subsided, and the department used its follow-up statement to attack the victim's family rather than account for its disciplinary reversal.