Brooklyn Immigrant Alleges Beating In ICE Hearing

BROOKLYN, NY— Chidozie Okeke, a Nigerian immigrant detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, asked an immigration judge to terminate his removal case and suppress evidence he says ICE obtained during an unlawful arrest.

His attorneys said ICE officers stopped Okeke on Gates Avenue on May 2 without probable cause, then escalated force during the arrest outside Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Bushwick.

“I was in deep pain, crying out,” Okeke said in an affidavit filed with the court, “Then the doctor came and asked me questions, but I couldn’t understand what he was saying because I was in serious pain, all over my body.”

Okeke alleged officers smashed his car window, used pepper spray, and threatened him with a firearm, first reported by the City Reporter.

“One of the two officers … brought out a gun, pointed it at me, and said to me that he would shoot me now,” he said in the filing.

He also alleged officers struck him repeatedly and used a taser during the encounter.

The Department of Homeland Security disputed his account, saying Okeke “refused to comply,” became “physically combative,” and “weaponized his vehicle to attempt to hit ICE officers.”

DHS said officers “followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to make the arrest.”

Okeke’s attorneys said ICE has not produced standard documentation explaining the basis for the stop, and argued the encounter involved unconstitutional conduct that tainted evidence of his immigration status.

At a Monday hearing, Immigration Judge Charles Conroy said the filing “does appear to be egregious conduct,” while Okeke remained detained at MDC Brooklyn awaiting further proceedings.

The “mega master” hearings reflect a broader shift within the Executive Office for Immigration Review to consolidate early-stage immigration cases into high-volume court sessions designed to move dockets more quickly.

Judges now handle more than 100 cases in a single day, typically covering routine steps such as confirming contact information and scheduling future hearings.

The change comes as immigration courts face a backlog of more than 3 million cases nationwide, even as advocates warn that accelerated scheduling and reduced individual attention can increase confusion, missed notices, and in absentia removal orders for people without legal representation.