Protest Planned In NYC After ICE Detain City Council Staffer: What To Know

NEW YORK CITY — Protesters are set to rally at ICE offices in Lower Manhattan Tuesday afternoon after a New York City Council staffer was detained by immigration officials when he showed up to a routine court appearance in Long Island Monday.

The staffer, identified as Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez, 53, has worked as a data analyst for city government for about a year. The protest is set to begin around noon Tuesday.

The 53-year-old man was initially detained at the Bethpage ICE immigration center before being transferred to the Lower Manhattan facility on Varick Street.

Council Speaker Julie Menin called the detainment "unacceptable" and an “egregious government overreach” during a press conference on Monday, where she appeared with a number of other elected officials

Menin claimed Bohorquez had a work visa through October.

"Despite every indication that he was doing everything the right way, he still found himself the victim of egregious government overreach,” she said.

“DHS confirmed this employee had gone in for a routine court appointment and was nevertheless detained. They provided no other basis for his detainment.”

The Department of Homeland Security called the 53-year-old a “criminal” who was in the country illegally and who should have been out of the U.S. years ago.

“On Jan. 12, ICE New York City arrested Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez, a criminal illegal alien from Venezuela and an employee of New York’s City Council. His criminal history includes an arrest for assault. He had no work authorization,” The DHS said in a statement.

According to the agency, Rubio entered the U.S. on a B2 tourist visa in 2017, and was required to leave the country within the same year.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani criticized federal authorities for the staffer's arrest and called for his release.

“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. This is an assault on our democracy, on our city, and our values,” Mamdani said on X. “I am calling for his immediate release and will continue to monitor the situation.”

New York State Attorney General Letitia James also called for the release of Bohorquez.

“We will not stand for attacks on our city, its public servants, and its residents,” she said on X.