ICE Detains New York City Council Employee Rafael Andrés Rubio Bohórquez in Bethpage

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained a New York City Council employee, Rafael Andrés Rubio Bohórquez, while he attended a routine immigration appointment at an immigration center in Bethpage, Nassau County, Long Island on Monday morning.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identified the municipal worker as a 53-year-old Venezuelan citizen and said he was detained despite no prior warrant anticipating his arrest, and City Hall learned of the situation hours later when he used his one phone call to contact Human Resources.

Al Jazeera

Julie Menin, president of the City Council, said, "He was an employee who was doing everything correctly," and she added that "The DHS confirmed that he attended a court appointment and was still detained."

DHS defended the detention by saying ICE arrested Rubio Bohórquez on January 12 and described him as an “illegal immigrant and criminal” with no legal authorization to stay or work in the United States, while City authorities refuted those claims and said he had a valid work visa through October.

Zohran Mamdani, New York City mayor, demanded the employee’s immediate release, saying, "This is an attack on our democracy, our city, and our values. I demand his immediate release."

DHS told local media that Rubio Bohórquez entered the United States in 2017 on a B-2 tourist visa that required him to depart before October 22, 2017, and that he remained longer than allowed, while City Hall said he was legally authorized to remain in the country through October 2026.

Tricia McLaughlin, DHS spokesperson, said, "Under Secretary Noem, illegal immigrant criminals are not welcome in the United States," and she added, "If he comes to our country illegally and violates our laws, we will find you and arrest you," as ABC News reported DHS said he had no legal right to be in the United States.

BBC

Julie Menin disputed the federal account and told local press that the worker is legally authorized to remain in the country until October 2026, describing the arrest as a "flagrant overreach by the government."

Kathy Hochul, New York governor, criticized the detention and said, "Detaining people during routine court appearances doesn’t make us safer," while Democratic Representative Dan Goldman said the employee is a "law-abiding immigrant with work authorization."

The City Council said it would explore legal avenues to overturn the detention, and it emphasized that the New York City Council was notified only after the employee contacted Human Resources for help.

The Rubio Bohórquez case unfolded as other families described deaths in ICE custody and as advocates argued that detention practices can produce outcomes families say they cannot anticipate.

EL PAÍS reported that the family of Luis Beltrán Yáñez-Cruz, a 68-year-old Honduran migrant who remained in ICE custody, said no one informed them he was in the hospital, and his daughter Josselyn Yáñez said, "I never imagined my father would leave there that way."

EL PAÍS also quoted a DHS statement saying Yáñez-Cruz was pronounced dead in the early morning, exactly at 1:18 a.m. Pacific time, after being moved to the Regional Medical Center to evaluate chest pain and later flown by helicopter to John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital.

In a separate account, Democracy Now! said Rubio Bohórquez was released in June after being detained at the immigration jail Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey, for more than five months, and it quoted him saying, "People are sad; detainees are sad."

Democracy Now! also said Rubio Bohórquez had TPS valid through October 2026 and that his attorney Gwyneth Hesser warned that re-detention would violate a court order, while he described fears of being detained again despite legal protections.