NEW YORK CITY − A federal immigration officer has been “relieved of current duties” after shoving a woman to the ground outside an immigration courtroom here.

The incident, captured on video, occurred after agents arrested her husband on Sept. 25.

The Manhattan federal building where the incident took place, has been the scene of previous controversial arrests, as agents detained people entering or exiting immigration court or arriving for Immigration and Customs Enforcement check-ins.

Footage showed the woman pleading with officers to release her husband from custody.

In front of reporters, the agent grabbed the crying woman by the arms before shoving her to the wall and then downward. She hit her head on the hallway floor and screamed, as the agent can be heard on the video saying, “Cállese,” shut up, and then “Adiós.”

A city official and the news site ProPublica identified the woman as Monica Moreta-Galarza, of Ecuador, who had been seeking asylum in the United States. Moreta-Galarza remained on the ground, with her two children crying next to her. She was later hospitalized for possible head trauma, according to Rep. Dan Goldman, D-New York, whose office saw her and her children after the incident.

"Over there (in Ecuador), they also beat us," Moreta-Galarza later told reporters in Spanish, through tears. "I never thought that I'd come here to the Untied States and the same thing would happen to me."

Commenting on the agent, Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, said: “The officer’s conduct in the video was unacceptable and beneath the men and women of ICE.”

“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,” she said in a statement.

Officials didn’t immediately respond to emailed questions about the officer’s name, title or how he had been relived of his duties.

The viral images and videos drew swift condemnation of ICE’s tactics.

On Sept. 26, Rep. Goldman, a former federal prosecutor, said he referred the incident to the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan for felony prosecution, accusing the officer of using excessive force against the woman and depriving her of Fourth Amendment rights to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.

"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," Goldman said in a statement.

Both the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney’s office declined to comment.

Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at emcuevas1@usatoday.com or on Signal at emcuevas.01.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ICE agent 'relieved' of duties after video captures him throwing immigrant to the floor

Reporting by Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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