Mamdani calls ICE detention of NYC employee 'assault on our democracy'

The Department of Homeland Security detained a New York City Council employee during an immigration appointment on Monday, leading to outrage from Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

DHS says the migrant, 53-year-old Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez, overstayed on a 2017 tourist visa. They also say he was arrested in an assault case. Mamdani and other city leaders demanded the man's release on Monday.

"I am outraged to hear a New York City Council employee was detained in Nassau County by federal immigration officials at a routine immigration appointment," Mamdani wrote in a statement on X. "This is an assault on our democracy, on our city, and our values. I am calling for his immediate release and will continue to monitor the situation."

DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin dismissed complaints, however, saying the department was fully justified in taking Bohorquez into custody.

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"He had no legal right to be in the United States," 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."

NYC Council Speaker Julie Menin held a press conference demanding the employee's release on Monday, She claimed that the employee had been cleared to remain in the U.S. until October 2026.

"DHS confirmed that this employee had gone in for a routine court appointment and was nevertheless detained. They provided no other basis for his detainment," Menin said during a press briefing on Monday. "On the contrary, he was a city council employee who is doing everything right. He went to the court when he was asked."

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Menin said the employee works as a data analyst and has held the job for roughly one year. DHS, however, maintains the man is not authorized to work in the U.S.

New York Attorney General Letitia James threw her weight behind calls for the employee's release later Monday.

"We will not stand for attacks on our city, its public servants, and its residents," she wrote on X.

Bohorquez is currently being held in an ICE facility in Manhattan.