The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has responded to outrage from New York City’s Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani after a city employee was detained during a “routine immigration appointment” on Monday.
In an angry statement posted to X, the newly inaugurated Democrat leader decried the arrest of New York City Council staffer Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Nassau County and demanded his immediate release.
“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,” Mamdani wrote, stirring the anti-ICE pot at a time of heightened tensions.
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. I am calling for his immediate release and will continue…
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) January 12, 2026
But Hizzoner doth protesteth too much, and his performative fury was coolly countered with the facts from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which shared some details about Rubio Bohorquez that Mamdani couldn’t be bothered with.
The reason why the 53-year-old city council employee was arrested during a “routine immigration appointment” is that he doesn’t belong in America, having overstayed his B2 tourist visa by a mere eight years, and is a “criminal illegal alien” whose continued employment raises serious questions about how many more illegal aliens are drawing paychecks in Gotham’s government.
The Venezuelan national entered the U.S. using a tourist visa, which required him to depart in the same year, back in 2017, but he didn’t go back to his homeland. He also has a previous arrest for assault, meaning that his detention was fully justified.
“This illegal alien’s criminal history includes an arrest for assault in New York. He had no work authorization and was illegally employed,” DHS said in a press release. “Rubio entered the United States on a B2 tourist visa in 2017 that required him to depart the U.S by October 22, 2017. He had no legal right to be in the United States.”
“A criminal illegal alien with no authorization to work in the U.S. being employed by the New York City Council is shocking. This takes sanctuary city to a whole new level,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.
“This criminal illegal alien has no authority to be in the U.S. and has a previous arrest for assault. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, the United States is no longer a safe haven for criminals,” McLaughlin added.
“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,” New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin said at a Monday press briefing during which she demanded Rubio Bohorquez’s release. “On the contrary, he was a city council employee who is doing everything right. He went to the court when he was asked.”
“We will not stand for attacks on our city, its public servants and its residents,” a spokesperson for lawfare queen New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement, according to Fox News Digital.
DHS maintains that the “criminal illegal alien” has no authorization to be in the United States.
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