Mayor Zohran Mamdani criticized federal immigration officials on Monday after they detained a New York City Council employee during what city leaders called a routine immigration appointment on Long Island. This arrest sparked conflicting claims about the employee’s legal status and led to demands for his release from both state and federal officials.
“This is an attack on our democracy, our city, and our values,” Mamdani said in a statement on X. “I am calling for his immediate release and will continue to monitor the situation.”
City Council Speaker Julie Menin stated that the employee was detained on Monday in Bethpage, Nassau County, during what she described as a routine appointment. She explained that the council employee worked as a data analyst and had been with the council for about a year. Menin mentioned that the worker called the council’s human resources department during what was his only phone call. He informed them he had been detained and asked for assistance.
Menin confirmed that the employee is legally authorized to stay in the United States until October. “DHS confirmed that this employee went in for a routine court appointment and was still detained,” Menin said during a briefing. She added that officials did not provide any other reasons for the detention at that time.
Immigration agents detained an employee of the New York City Council.
“A regular checkin quickly went awry. He was taken in and he was moved to a detention center.
He was a city council employee who was doing everything right.
He went to the court when he was asked. I wanna… pic.twitter.com/Kvf5IBj6vx
— ICE of TikTok (@ICEofTikTok) January 13, 2026
The Department of Homeland Security defended the detention late Monday, identifying the employee as Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin claimed that Rubio Bohorquez is a Venezuelan national who overstayed a B-2 tourist visa in 2017 and was required to leave the country by October 22, 2017. “He had no legal right to be in the United States,” McLaughlin stated.
McLaughlin also claimed he has a criminal history that includes an arrest for assault. DHS did not disclose details about the alleged assault in its public statement.
In the same statement, McLaughlin said, “Under Secretary Noem, criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the United States. If you come to our country illegally and break our law, we will find you and we will arrest you.”
Menin challenged DHS’s claims. She stated that the council employee has work authorization and that the council could not immediately verify DHS’s allegation regarding an assault arrest.
Rep. Dan Goldman, a New York Democrat, spoke at the City Council briefing and described the employee as a “law-abiding immigrant with work authorization.” He noted that there was no indication the detention related to anything other than immigration status. “There is no sign that there’s anything about this individual aside from his immigration status that caused him to be arrested,” Goldman said.
Menin reported that the employee was moved to a detention facility in Manhattan and that the council had been unable to contact the employee’s family. Goldman said his office reached out to ICE. “We will continue to fight this,” he added, including efforts to secure the employee’s release.
New York Attorney General Letitia James called for the employee’s immediate release, stating on X that officials “will not tolerate attacks on our city, its public servants, and its residents.” Gov. Kathy Hochul also condemned the detention, remarking on X that detaining individuals during routine court appearances “breaks trust, spreads fear, and violates basic principles of fairness.”
DHS claimed the employee was not authorized to work in the United States. City Council officials rejected this assertion, leading to a dispute that may depend on immigration court records and the worker’s current status.
