New York City mayoral candidate Brad Lander arrested by ICE at immigration hearing

Brad Lander was arrested for assaulting a law enforcement officer, according to a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security.

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander was arrested outside of immigration court in lower Manhattan.

Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander speaks during a Democratic mayoral primary debate, at NBC's 30 Rockefeller Center studios in New York on June 4, 2025. (AFP File)

Lander, who is running in next week’s Democratic primary for mayor, was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents Tuesday, according to his campaign. 

The comptroller, 55, was escorting a defendant out of court, his campaign said. Lander was there to observe immigration hearings and hold a media event to promote more legal funding to support immigrants, according to his public schedule.

Lander was arrested for assaulting a law enforcement officer, according to a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security.

The arrest comes less than a week after US Senator Alex Padilla of California was forcibly removed from a press conference and handcuffed after disrupting a media briefing by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles. 

Lander was polling in third place with 11% support on the first round of ranked voting ahead of the June 24 primary, according to an Emerson College poll released in May. 

Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was also arrested in the waning weeks of the 2013 mayoral primary race, when he was protesting the closing of Brooklyn’s Long Island College Hospital.