The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) detained an illegal alien employed by the New York City Council during a routine immigration appointment on Monday.
The suspect, who had overstayed a tourist visa issued in 2017, has a violent history and was previously arrested in an assault case.
However, the detention is drawing sharp criticism from Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other city officials.
According to DHS, the individual has been identified as 53-year-old Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez.
Federal officials took Bohorquez into custody during an immigration appointment in Nassau County.
Mamdani condemned the detention in a statement posted on X, calling it “an assault on our democracy, on our city, and our values.”
The radical socialist mayor continued by demanding Bohorquez’s immediate release.
Noting that his office would continue monitoring the situation, the mayor wrote:
“I am outraged to hear a New York City Council employee was detained … at a routine immigration appointment.”
DHS rejected the criticism, however.
Spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the department acted lawfully and within its authority.
“He had no legal right to be in the United States,” McLaughlin said.
“Under Secretary Kristi 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.”
New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin held a press conference on Monday.
Menin joined other NYC Democrats in calling for Bohorquez’s release.
She claimed DHS had previously confirmed that the employee was permitted to remain in the country until October 2026.
Menin also argued that his detention was unwarranted.
“DHS confirmed that this employee had gone in for a routine court appointment and was nevertheless detained,” Menin said.
“They provided no other basis for his detainment.
“On the contrary, he was a city council employee who is doing everything right.”
Menin said Bohorquez has worked as a data analyst for the City Council for roughly one year.
DHS, however, maintains that he was not authorized to work in the United States.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, a career Democrat, also weighed in, backing calls for the employee’s release.
“We will not stand for attacks on our city, its public servants, and its residents,” James wrote on X.
Bohorquez remains in custody at an ICE facility in Manhattan as federal immigration proceedings continue.
DHS officials have emphasized that employment by a city agency does not confer legal immigration status or immunity from enforcement of federal law.
READ MORE – ICE Releases ‘Disturbing List’ of Illegal Aliens After 1500 Arrested in Minnesota
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