Linda Wolff said she was recording a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Inwood Thursday when a masked federal agent sprayed her with a chemical irritant.
“He was walking toward me, and I was like, ‘He’s not going to mace me,’” she said.
Wolff had confronted a tow truck driver who arrived after two vehicles used by federal agents appeared to have flat tires.
Seconds later, the agent walked toward Wolff and sprayed her.
She said her sunglasses partially protected her eyes, and the adrenaline kept her recording the scene on her phone.
“It was all over my hair, my face, my lips, my clothes, my hands,” Wolff said.
By Friday, Wolff was back on so-called ICE watch, but this time in Elmhurst.
The Upper West Side resident and other volunteers track immigration enforcement reports, warn neighbors and document agents.
“We’re training them to document, document, document. Stay back and document,” Wolff said.
In Inwood, City Councilwoman Carmen De La Rosa spent the day handing residents pamphlets with information so they know their rights.
“The fear is real. We can feel it in our community as we’re a majority immigrant community,” she said.
De La Rosa said that’s why she’s taking the information directly to residents, hoping they’re prepared before ICE shows up at their door.
“I’m very cautious for myself, my family members,” Inwood resident Robert Arzola said.
“Every day, there’s a sighting of some sort. Yesterday’s escalation, I felt, was not normal,” De La Rosa said.
For Wolff, Thursday’s confrontation is now heading to court.
She said she plans to sue and says being sprayed won’t stop her from documenting future ICE operations.
“This isn’t violent. We’re not violent,” Wolff said.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not respond to NY1’s inquiry regarding this story.
In a separate inquiry response, the agency blamed the state’s policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities.