The Photo of the Year is Separated by ICE by Carol Guzy, ZUMA Press, iWitness, for Miami Herald.
This photograph was taken inside one of the few U.S. federal buildings where photographers were granted access — a single hallway where photographer Carol Guzy and others showed up, day after day, to document what was happening. It captures a harrowing moment: a family separated by the state. Luis was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents following an immigration court hearing at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building, in New York City on August 26, 2025.
Executive director of World Press Photo, Joumana El Zein Khoury 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 4-time Pulitzer Prize winner, talked to Morning Edition about the photo and the critical importance of the story worldwide. It was part of a larger body of work called Ice Arrests at New York Court.
Interview Highlights
On who the people are she has been photographing:
Asylum seekers attend their immigration court hearings, at 26 Federal Plaza in New York. And ICE has been there since last May, I think, doing detainments and this particular family. The father's name was Luis from Ecuador, and his wife is named Cocha. I don't have the names of of his children. He had two girls and a young boy, seven years old. And the young women were 13 and 15. And the family was inconsolable with despair when they detained their father. And I don't know what's happened to the family now. They didn't show up at a church that has been helping these families. So, they've kind of fallen off the map as far as being able to update.
Can you tell us a little more about how you captured this moment?
Yeah. Kids and spouses are traumatized. They're caught in the crossfire of President Trump's mass deportation effort, which has been very controversial. As I said, I've been covering detainments for many, many months and ICE agents wait outside courtrooms and they have what they call targets and they detain them as they come out of their court hearings many times causing family separations. It was one of many that I photographed since I've been there. And it's always a very chaotic scene, especially when there are families involved and, you know, there's children screaming and and it's very crowded with a lot of ICE agents. So many, many photojournalists, court observers, lawyers. It's quite a chaotic scene when it happens.
What led you to start documenting this?
I had covered the Republican National Convention the year before. And there was one moment where the crowd pulled out signs saying mass deportation now. And there was such a fervor in the crowd about it. And I realized that Trump's campaign promise for mass deportation was probably going to be fulfilled.
And I had wanted to do something on immigration this year. And I noticed that there was access in this courthouse. And in fact, it's unprecedented because it's the only courthouse where they've allowed photojournalists to document. So I spent one day here, actually came to New York to cover the mermaid parade at Coney Island, because I was it was on my bucket list. I had never been to Coney Island, but while I was here, I went to the courthouse for one day and then six months later, I had gone there daily, you know, for that whole time, because I think it's so vitally important that the cameras are there and we have eyes on what's happening in that courthouse.
You have covered disasters around the world, how does covering the immigration crisis compare?
It's kind of a war on the streets of America right now, as far as, you know, the political divide and how many people are being affected by these new policies. And I think it's you know, it's imperative for the media right now to put a face on who's being affected, who's being detained and the aftershocks that the families are dealing with. It's not our place to judge as press, but I think all these photographs certainly raise awareness and they hold agencies and individuals accountable in that courthouse and perhaps at times become a voice of amplify voices of justice.
Are you in contact with any of the families that you have documented at this time?
We actually in contact with Luis's family. They were supposed to come to this church, that's kind of an epicenter of aid for for the detainees families, but they never showed up and they didn't answer his messages. So, we've lost track of them. But there are other families I've been covering for many months now. There's three families in particular and a few others that I've been trying to follow through their struggles with the loss of their breadwinner, which not only causes emotional trauma but, you know, financial issues for all the families and the children have needed therapy. They have nightmares. They're quite traumatized by what they witnessed at the courthouse.
You've obviously received so many awards for your work, what does it mean to have this award?
Well, I think this recognition is so important because the story is so important. And to choose this particular image is symbolic of this evolving story in America at this pivotal time. And I think it's a very powerful statement that they have chosen an image from the story about what's going on in America right now.
What was your reaction to hearing that you won?
I was very surprised. And I was extremely pleased, of course, to hear the news. I don't think the award is for me. It's for the people in the pictures and everyone who's involved in this issue right now.
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