Carol Guzy’s ICE family separation image wins World Press Photo of the Year

Carol Guzy Wins World Press Photo of the Year for Image of Family Separated by ICE

American photojournalist Carol Guzy has been named the 2026 World Press Photo of the Year winner for “Separated by ICE,” a photograph capturing the moment a family was torn apart by immigration agents inside a New York City federal building. The award was announced on Wednesday at De Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, where the organization’s flagship exhibition opens Thursday.npr

A Family Torn Apart in a Hallway Built for Justice

The winning image, taken on August 26, 2025, at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in New York, shows Luis, an Ecuadorian migrant, being pulled away from his wife and children by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents moments after attending an immigration court hearing. His two daughters, aged 15 and 13, are at the center of the frame, their grief visible as their father is detained.youtube

Guzy, shooting for ZUMA Press, iWitness, and the Miami Herald, was part of a small group of photographers who maintained a steady presence at the courthouse — one of the only federal buildings in the United States where photographers had been granted even limited access, restricted to a single hallway.worldpressphoto

“What is documented here is not random misfortune. It is part of a pattern: an administration policy that separates families, applied systematically, at scale,” global jury chair Kira Pollack wrote in her statement. “The photograph is not just emotional. It is a record.”worldpressphoto

Thousands of Entries, Three Finalists

The image was selected from 57,376 photographs submitted by 3,747 photographers from 141 countries. Two finalists were also named, including a portrait by Victor J. Blue of Doña Paulina Ixpata Alvarado, one of 36 Achí women who endured sexual violence during the Guatemalan civil war and spent 14 years pursuing justice.worldpressphoto

The selection sparked debate within the jury over whether images of Latina women in states of grief risk being exploitative. Pollack said the jury took the concern seriously but kept returning to the photograph’s documentary power.worldpressphoto

A Contest Reflecting Global Fracture

The 42 regional winners announced earlier this month spanned conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan, as well as stories of migration, protest, and environmental destruction. Among the Europe category winners was Ukrainian photojournalist Evgeniy Maloletka for “Russian Attack on Kyiv,” depicting the aftermath of a missile strike on the Ukrainian capital.euronews

“Photojournalism has never been easy work. It has never been lucrative, or safe, or guaranteed an audience. And yet photographers go,” Pollack said. “The photographers recognized here have done their part. They have made the record. Now it is our turn to look.”worldpressphoto