US immigration agents arrest NYC mayoral candidate Brad Lander

A Democrat candidate for NYC mayor has been arrested by federal immigration agents in dramatic scenes. Watch the video.

New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested by us Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in a chaotic scene outside a federal immigration court, his mayoral campaign confirmed.

Video showed Mr Lander repeatedly demanding to see a judicial warrant for a man being hauled away by immigration agents — all while he kept his hand clutched on the detainee’s shoulder.

Hi, this is Meg Barnette, Brad's wife.

While escorting a defendant out of immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza, Brad was taken by masked agents and detained by ICE.

This is still developing, and our team is monitoring the situation closely. pic.twitter.com/jekaDFjsT1

— Brad Lander (@bradlander) June 17, 2025

After Lander refused to let go, a voice could be heard saying, “Take him in,” prompting agents to cuff him.

“You don’t have the authority to arrest US citizens,” Mr Lander repeated in protest.

Sources told The New York Post that Lander was arrested on an obstruction of governmental administration charge.

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is placed under arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and FBI agents outside federal immigration court. Picture: AP

Mr Lander is hoping to secure the Democrat mayoral nomination. Picture: AP

Mr Lander, who is running for the Democratic mayoral nomination, had been at the federal court to observe immigration proceedings after President Donald Trump’s recent call for ICE to target New York City.

“While escorting a defendant out of immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza, Brad Lander was taken by masked agents and detained by ICE,” said Mr Lander’s spokesperson Dora Pekec. “This is still developing and we are monitoring the situation closely.”

The arrest comes following unrest earlier this month in Los Angeles were violence broke out during protests against ICE raids.

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36 MORE COUNTRIES FACE TRUMP TRAVEL BAN

The United States is considering extending its travel ban to 36 more countries, a person who has seen the memo said Monday, marking a dramatic potential expansion of entry restrictions to nearly 1.5 billion people.

The State Department early this month announced it was barring entry to citizens of 12 nations including Afghanistan, Haiti and Iran and imposing a partial ban on travellers from seven other countries, reviving a divisive measure from President Donald Trump’s first term.

But expanding the travel ban to three dozen more nations, including US partners like Egypt along with other countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific, appears to escalate the president’s crackdown on immigration.

The Washington Post said it reviewed the internal memo and reported it was signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and sent to diplomats who work with the countries.

A person who has seen the document confirmed its accuracy to AFP.

It reportedly gives the governments of the listed nations 60 days to meet new requirements established by the State Department.

The countries include the most populous in Africa – Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania – as well as Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan, Saint Lucia, South Sudan, Syria and Vanuatu.

The 19 countries facing full or partial entry bans to the United States, combined with the 36 cited in the latest memo, account for 1.47 billion people, or roughly 18 per cent of the global population.

The State Department declined to confirm the memo, saying it does not comment on internal deliberations.

TRUMP WARNS IRAN TO NEGOTIATE ‘BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE’

Donald Trump on Monday warned Iran, which Israel is pounding, to re-enter negotiations “before it’s too late” as Group of Seven leaders considered a joint call for de-escalation.

Host Canada had designed the summit in the Rockies resort of Kananaskis to paper over differences within the bloc of major industrial democracies, as Mr Trump returns to the global stage in his norm-shattering second term.

But two days before the summit, Israel launched a surprise, massive military attack on Iran, which had been in negotiations with the Trump administration over the cleric-run state’s contested nuclear program.

(L-R) EU Council President Antonio Costa, Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian PM Mark Carney, Donald Trump, British PM Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Picture: Getty Images

President Trump, who has praised Israel’s strikes despite his stated preference for diplomacy, said he believed a negotiated settlement remained “achievable.”

“It’s painful for both parties, but I’d say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately, before it’s too late,” Mr Trump told reporters as he met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Israel has killed leading commanders and nuclear scientists in Iran, which has responded with its own volley of drones and missiles on Israel.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hold a bilateral meeting during the G7 Leaders' Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta. Picture: Getty Images via AFP

On Monday afternoon, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel was pursuing the objectives against Iran that are being “well co-ordinated with the United States,” he said.

Canada and European leaders have looked to draft a statement on the crisis, although it looks set to stop short of demanding a ceasefire.

Leaders will discuss the statement Monday evening, a diplomat said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that G7 leaders share concern about Iran’s nuclear program but there is “absolutely a focus on how we de-escalate this and that will be a central focus as we go into the talks.”

TRUMP SAYS GLOBAL TARIFFS SOLUTION ‘SIMPLE’

The G7 summit at a wooded resort under still snow-topped mountains comes after months of tumult on the global stage since Mr Trump’s return.

President Trump, seeking to shatter a decades-old US-led global economic order, has vowed sweeping tariffs on friends and foes alike although he has postponed implementation until July 9.

Mr Trump has also mocked host Canada, imposing economic pressure and repeatedly stating that the vast but less populated neighbour should become the 51st US state.

Mr Trump said he was optimistic about reaching a solution on trade as he met Mr Carney, a former central banker who has appeared to win more respect from the US leader since succeeding the flashier Justin Trudeau in March.

“I’m a tariff person,” Mr Trump told Mr Carney.

“It’s simple, it’s easy, it’s precise, and it just goes very quickly.”

“I think Mark has a more complex idea, but also very good.”

From left, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Donald Trump, pose during a group photo at the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada. Picture: AP

Speaking ahead of the bilateral meeting with Mr Mark Carney, Mr Trump was asked what the barriers were to a trade deal with his northern neighbour.

“I have a tariff concept, Mark has a different concept,” Mr Trump said.

“We’re going to see if we can get to the bottom of it today.”

The President said an agreement was still achievable within days or weeks.

Mr Trump’s last G7 appearance in 2018 was a tense affair and produced a viral image of then German Chancellor Angela Merkel standing over a defiant Mr Trump seated with his arms crossed.

It captured the division among the group that came amid tariff disputes and ended with a spectacular spray from Mr Trump on board Air Force One as he departed the event blasting host country PM Justin Trudeau as “weak and dishonest”.

Leaders at the event are seeking to avoid a similar fallout at this week’s meeting but Mr Trump’s first press conference indicates he has no plans to mince words.

– with AFP and The New York Post

Originally published as US immigration agents arrest NYC mayoral candidate Brad Lander