ISTANBUL/WASHINGTON

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer has been removed from “current duties” after a video surfaced showing him pushing a woman to the ground outside an immigration court in New York City.

"The officer’s conduct in this video is 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," Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Anadolu in a statement Friday.

The videos, filmed outside the 26 Federal Plaza federal building in lower Manhattan, surfaced on social media Thursday and quickly drew widespread outrage, according to CBS News.

The incident began when the woman and her young daughter tried to cling to her husband as federal agents attempted to detain him. Video shows agents separating the family, with one officer grabbing the woman’s hair. The man was eventually taken into custody.

In another video, the same officer is seen shoving the woman and pushing her to the ground in front of her children, a crowd of photojournalists, and federal and court officials. During the confrontation, the officer can be heard repeatedly saying “adios,” which means “goodbye” in Spanish.

The woman, who told reporters her family is from Ecuador, said she and her daughter were trying to stay with her husband as he was detained.