ICE arrest of visa overstayer sparks overnight Bushwick hospital protest

Federal immigration agents moved Chidozie Wilson Okeke, a Nigerian citizen, to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Bushwick after taking him into custody, turning a visa-overstay arrest into an all-night confrontation outside the hospital. The Department of Homeland Security said Okeke entered the United States in August 2023 on a tourist visa, was required to leave by February 2024, and had previously been arrested for assault and criminal drug possession.

What began as a medical evaluation quickly spread into a street-level standoff. Police said roughly 200 protesters gathered outside the hospital while Okeke was inside, and the crowd blocked traffic as well as emergency entrances and exits. The scene remained active for hours, with protests continuing past 3 a.m. and, in some accounts, until about 5 a.m. Sunday.

DHS said protesters damaged several ICE vehicles and that ICE officers suffered minor injuries. One law enforcement source also said pepper spray was used during the confrontation. The agency’s version of events cast the crowd as an obstacle to an ongoing federal operation, while demonstrators treated the hospital response as the latest example of aggressive immigration enforcement in a sanctuary city.

The NYPD said it was not involved in the ICE operation and responded only after disturbance calls. By the end of the night, nine people had been taken into custody, including eight arrests and one criminal court summons. Police said the reported charges included resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration and criminal mischief.

City officials quickly turned the Bushwick episode into a broader political fight over federal authority and local resistance. Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso called ICE’s presence in Bushwick deeply disturbing. Mayor Zohran Mamdani again voiced opposition to ICE activity in the five boroughs, while City Council member Sandy Nurse said the NYPD helped clear the street so the ICE vehicle could leave the hospital and argued the response violated New York’s sanctuary city laws.

The clash fit a familiar pattern in New York City, where immigration enforcement has repeatedly triggered late-night protests and arrests. Earlier 2025 demonstrations at Manhattan’s Federal Plaza and other city sites already had sharpened the argument over how far federal agents can go in New York and how aggressively local police should respond when they do.