Distraught girls cling to their father, Luis, as ICE detains him following an immigration hearing in New York City on Aug. 26, 2025. Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press, iWitness for Miami Herald.
The Photo of the Year is Separated by ICE by Carol Guzy, ZUMA Press, iWitness, for Miami Herald.
Guzy captured the image inside one of the few U.S. federal buildings where photographers were granted access — a single hallway at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in New York City where she and others showed up repeatedly to document detainments. The photograph records a harrowing moment of a family separated by the state: Luis, the family’s sole breadwinner, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents after an immigration court hearing on August 26, 2025.
Joumana El Zein Khoury, executive director of World Press Photo, said: “This image shows the inconsolable grief of children losing their father in a place built for justice. It is a stark and necessary record of family separation following the U.S. reform policies. In a democracy, the camera’s presence in that hallway serves as a witness to a policy that has turned courthouses into sites of shattered lives — it is a powerful example of why independent photojournalism matters.”
Guzy, a four-time Pulitzer Prize winner, discussed the photograph and the wider story with Morning Edition. The picture is part of a larger body of work titled Ice Arrests at New York Court.
Interview Highlights
On who the people are she has been photographing:
Asylum seekers attend immigration court hearings at 26 Federal Plaza in New York. ICE has been conducting detainments there since about last May. The father in the image was Luis from Ecuador; his wife is Cocha. He had two girls and a young boy, seven years old; the girls were about 13 and 15. The family was inconsolable when he was detained. Guzy said she does not know the family’s current whereabouts; they were expected to go to a local church that helps detainees’ families but did not show up.
Can you tell us a little more about how you captured this moment?
Guzy has been covering detainments for many months. ICE agents often wait outside courtrooms for targeted individuals and detain them as they exit hearings, frequently causing family separations. Scenes are chaotic — children screaming, crowded hallways, many ICE agents, photojournalists, court observers and lawyers. Guzy photographed many such moments while documenting the courthouse daily over months because of the unprecedented access granted there.
What led you to start documenting this?
After covering the Republican National Convention the previous year, Guzy recalled protesters calling for mass deportations and felt the campaign promise was likely to be enacted. She wanted to cover immigration and found that this courthouse allowed photojournalists. What began as a single day of reporting turned into daily coverage for months because she believed it was vital that cameras were present to record what was happening.
You have covered disasters worldwide; how does covering the immigration crisis compare?
Guzy described the situation as “kind of a war on the streets of America” given the political divide and the scale of people affected by the policies. She said the media must put faces to those affected, document who is being detained and show the aftershocks on families. Photographs can raise awareness, hold agencies and individuals accountable, and amplify voices seeking justice.
Additional images from the series:
– Masked federal officers wait outside courtrooms in New York City on July 8, 2025, holding target photographs. Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press, iWitness for Miami Herald.
– A security guard breaks down while witnessing a family separation; security personnel often find themselves caught between federal agents, desperate families, and protesters in the increasingly volatile courthouse environment in New York City on August 20, 2025. Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press, iWitness for Miami Herald.
– A woman is led in shackles through the Jacob Javits building’s 10th floor in New York City. Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press, iWitness for Miami Herald.
Are you in contact with any of the families you have documented?
Guzy said they had been in contact with Luis’s family but lost track when the family did not appear at the church that helps detainees’ families and stopped responding. She continues to follow other families she has covered for months, including three specific households and several others, documenting the emotional trauma, financial hardship, and need for therapy among the children who witnessed detainments.
You’ve received many awards; what does it mean to have this award?
Guzy said she was surprised and extremely pleased. She emphasized that the recognition is not just for her but for the people in the pictures and everyone involved in the issue. Choosing this image, she said, is symbolic of an evolving story in America at a pivotal time and a powerful statement about what is happening now.