ICE detained NYC Council employee Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez during his scheduled immigration appointment on Long Island. The visit was routine. City officials said he does not have a criminal record. They also said he can legally work in the United States.
A routine appointment that turned into a detention for an NYC Council employee
On Monday, the NYC Council employee went to a court on Long Island for what city officials described as a routine and required immigration check-in. ICE officers detained him instead of allowing him to leave after the appointment.
New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin said the NYC Council employee is a law-abiding worker with authorization to work in the U.S. until October and has no criminal record. Representative Dan Goldman said the NYC Council employee is of Venezuelan descent and criticized the arrest, saying the man followed the rules by attending his appointment, but ICE still detained him.
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Menin said a DHS official confirmed that the NYC Council employee went to a routine court visit, but ICE still took him into custody without giving a clear reason.
After the arrest, officials first held the NYC Council employee in Bethpage and later moved him to a detention center on Varick Street in Manhattan. They said it was hard to get information about his whereabouts.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani also reacted strongly. He said he was outraged, called the incident an attack on the city’s values, and demanded the man’s immediate release.
Conflicting statements and questions about the NYC Council employee’s status
A few hours after the city leaders’ news conference, the Department of Homeland Security offered a very different version of events. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that the NYC Council employee is a Venezuelan national and that police had arrested him in the past for assault, though media reports said they could not immediately confirm whether authorities charged or convicted him.
McLaughlin also said the NYC Council employee does not have work authorization, directly contradicting earlier statements from city officials. According to DHS, he entered the United States in 2017 on a B2 tourist visa, which allows only short visits, and he failed to leave by the October 22, 2017 deadline.
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These conflicting claims have made the case more confusing. City officials say the NYC Council employee is a legal worker with permission to stay and no criminal record. Federal officials, however, say he overstayed his visa, lacks work authorization, and had a prior arrest.
Both sides agree that ICE detained the NYC Council employee during a scheduled immigration-related visit, not during any street operation.
Council Speaker Julie Menin said homeland security officials told her they would likely move to another facility but did not explain why. She described the situation as deeply troubling and an example of government overreach.
A larger debate over immigration enforcement in the United States
This arrest is not happening in isolation. Across the United States, immigration enforcement has become a major and emotional political issue. A recent analysis of ICE data by The Washington Post shows the agency is increasingly targeting undocumented immigrants who do not have criminal records, a shift that has worried local leaders and immigrant communities.
Tensions have grown even higher after a recent incident in Minnesota, where an ICE officer fatally shot a woman. The Trump administration and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem said the officer acted in self-defense, but video footage has questioned and challenged those claims. After that incident, Minnesota sued federal immigration authorities, saying the recent surge in enforcement actions is politically motivated and violates the U.S. Constitution.
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Against this national backdrop, the arrest of the NYC Council employee has drawn widespread attention. Council Speaker Julie Menin said aggressive ICE actions across the country are not only affecting immigrants but are also threatening the freedom and safety of many people in the United States. She said the NYC Council employee’s detention sends a troubling message to those who are trying to follow legal processes.
City and federal officials sharply disagree over the case of Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez, and his arrest during a routine immigration appointment highlights the growing debate over how authorities enforce immigration laws.