ICE agent seen on viral video shoving woman had no "compassion," victim says
The mother who was shoved to the ground by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent at the federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan broke her silence on Sunday.
The video of Thursday's altercation went viral, but the woman told CBS News New York that was not the first interaction her family had with the agent.
"I was left in shock"
It was a moment Monica Elizabeth Moreta-Galarza said she never thought would unfold at a federal courthouse in the United States.
"I was left in shock," she said in Spanish.
She said the agent seen on the video shoving her to the ground at 26 Federal Plaza pulled her hair and yelled at her and her two children in a separate room before what transpired on the footage unfolded.
"He pushed me inside and he told me to calm down, to shut up, shut up and because my kids were crying, he told them to shut up and he closed the door," Moreta-Galarza said.
"I didn't do anything to him"
On the video, Moreta-Galarza is heard pleading with the officer after being separated from her husband of 17 years following their immigration court hearing.
"I didn't do anything to him. I just begged him, and any human would have some compassion, but he didn't have that," she said.
Moreta-Galarza said the judge granted her family a court hearing for next year. They are all seeking asylum from Ecuador. She said she was stunned when agents took him into custody.
ICE agent in question fired
The Department of Homeland Security said the agent has been relieved of his duties as it investigates the incident. DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin also released a statement calling the ICE officer's behavior "unacceptable and beneath the men and women of ICE."
Lina Stillman, the family's attorney, said the incident sends a message to migrants.
"That the same thing will happen to them, that violence will be used against them," Stillman said.
Moreta-Galarza fought back tears as she reflected on the moment. She said her children and the word of God are keeping her going.
"Please have compassion for us"
She also had a message for President Trump.
"I am asking the president directly that he please have compassion for us," Moreta-Galarza said.
CBS News New York reached out to DHS several times Sunday, but did not immediately hear back.
The family attorney said her mission right now is reuniting the family.