'Striking about-face' as Trump admin reinstates official who brutally slammed woman to ground

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent seen in a viral video grabbing and slamming an unarmed woman to the ground at a New York courthouse has been reinstated, according to a new report.

Last week, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander posted a video of an Ecuadoran woman arguing with the ICE agent at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan, which was initially recorded by videographer Elias Eliahu (who works for right-wing podcaster Tim Pool). The video shows the ICE agent repeatedly saying "adios" to the woman, who briefly touched his chest while talking. The ICE agent then abruptly lunges at the woman, lifts her into the air, pushes her down the hallway, and slams her on the ground.

On Monday, CBS News reported that the agent — whose name has not been publicly disclosed — is now back at work despite being "relieved of duties" following the video spreading online. CBS immigration reporter Camilo Montoya-Galvez tweeted that the agent is back on the job despite his conduct being called "unacceptable."

"The officials, who requested anonymity to discuss an internal move that has not been publicly announced, said the ICE officer was placed back on duty after a preliminary review of the incident," Montoya-Galvez reported.

"The move is a striking about-face, just a few days after the DHS released a statement denouncing the officer’s conduct as 'unacceptable and beneath the men and women of ICE,'" he added in a subsequent post.

The woman was begging ICE to "take me too" after agents detained her husband, Ruben Abelardo Ortiz-Lopez, for having illegally crossed the U.S. border in March of 2024. He was arrested in New York in June for "assault and criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation."

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) argued that the agent should not only be fired, but also prosecuted for his harsh treatment of the woman seen in the video.

"Not only should this individual no longer work for the United States government, but the Department of Justice should aggressively enforce the criminal laws against him, consistent with the precedents set by this administration," he stated.

Click here to read CBS' full report.