MANHATTAN — Linda Wolff, a 72-year-old immigrant rights supporter, has become the first known individual to file a lawsuit under a new New York state law allowing suits against federal ICE officers for constitutional violations. The legal action follows an incident in which she was pepper-sprayed while filming agents in Manhattan.

Wolff was in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan three weeks prior to August 15, 2026. She stated she began recording ICE agents with her phone after receiving word that arrests were being made in the area.

The official record states that on July 30, 2026, an ICE agent sprayed Linda Wolff with pepper spray while she was filming them in Inwood, Manhattan. News.com, there is no information provided about an earlier incident involving Linda Wolff at the same place or with the same operator prior to this event.

"I went back on the curb and was just filming ICE, and they walked over and they maced me," Wolff said. "My civil rights were completely violated at that moment." Civil rights attorney John Burris filed a federal tort claim against ICE on behalf of Linda Wolff.

Burris emphasized the difficulty of identifying officers who operate without visible identification. "It's unconscionable to hide behind a mask and badge. And people do not understand and know who you are. So the great task here is to uncover that person, to unmask that person," he said.

An ICE spokesperson defended the actions taken during the encounter. "Our officers followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary," the spokesperson said.

A New York state law allows individuals to sue federal ICE officers in state court for violating constitutional rights. Wolff attended a news conference with New York Governor Kathy Hochul on August 15, 2026, to draw attention to a new state law banning local police departments from participating in immigration enforcement.

"I'm grateful for Gov. Hochul for making that law. And I'm the first one to, you know, have a lawsuit," Wolff said. The law firm representing Linda Wolff is handling similar suits alleging excessive force by ICE agents in Minneapolis.