A photograph of a family being torn apart in a US courthouse corridor by federal agents has been named World Press Photo of the Year 2026.
Capturing a moment of grief that has resonated far beyond the US, the image, taken on August 26 last year by American photojournalist Carol Guzy, shows the immediate aftermath of a father’s detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a place designed to deliver justice.
Luis, an Ecuadorian migrant and the sole provider for his household, had just attended an immigration hearing in New York when he was detained. His wife, Cocha, and their three children – aged seven, 13 and 15 – are seen grappling with the shock, their distress raw and unfiltered.
The image comes amid growing scrutiny of US immigration enforcement, with footage of masked agents detaining people suspected of being undocumented – in some cases using deadly force – fuelling backlash in recent months and contributing to the firing of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in March.
“What Carol Guzy has documented is not an isolated instance, but a policy indiscriminately applied to people who arrive for hearings in good faith,” the World Press Photo jury said. “It is evidence and documentation of a government policy being applied systematically to people who followed the rules they were given.”
Guzy, whose winning photo was selected from a larger body of work titled ICE Arrests at New York Court, dedicated her award to her subjects.
“The courage to open up their lives to our cameras allowed us to tell their stories. This award belongs to them, not me,” she said.
“This award highlights the critical importance of the story worldwide. We bear witness to the suffering of countless families, but also to their grace and resilience, which has been quite humbling.”
Joumana El Zein Khoury, executive director of World Press Photo, described the photograph as “a stark and necessary record”.
“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 – a powerful example of why independent photojournalism matters,” she said.
Two other images were named finalists. One, Aid Emergency in Gaza by Saber Nuraldin for EPA Images, shows crowds climbing on to an aid lorry in search of food amid worsening hunger in the Gaza Strip. It was taken on July 27 last year during what the Israeli military described as a “tactical suspension” to allow humanitarian aid to enter.
At the time, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) warned that the “worst-case scenario” of famine was rapidly unfolding in Gaza.
The jury said the photograph captured “the scale and urgency of famine”, adding that its “straightforward composition forces the viewer to pause” while confronting them with the reality of the situation and its global implications.
The second finalist, by Victor J Blue for The New York Times Magazine, was taken in Guatemala and shows Indigenous women standing together after a decades-long legal battle, as three of their attackers were sentenced to 40 years in prison.
For decades, Maya Achi women in Rabinal lived in the same communities as the men who had abused them, sometimes as neighbours.
The jury praised the image’s “classical, restrained approach”, saying it emphasised the women’s dignity and authority while challenging narratives that portray survivors of sexual violence as powerless. Instead, it documents “a moment of collective strength at the conclusion of their long struggle for justice”.
The World Press Photo Foundation, a non-profit organisation that recently marked its 71st anniversary, aims to “champion the power of photojournalism and documentary photography to deepen understanding, promote dialogue and inspire action”.
This year’s winners were selected from 57,376 photographs submitted by 3,747 photographers from 141 countries.
Alongside the main prize and finalists, regional winners were also announced, with all selected works set to feature in World Press Photo’s annual travelling exhibition, which will premiere in Amsterdam at De Nieuwe Kerk on April 24.
