A staff member for California Assemblywoman Catherine Stefani was taken into custody last week by federal immigration officials during an operation that went down at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, according to information shared by the Department of Homeland Security. Ho-Yin Mo, a field representative in Stefani’s office who previously worked as a news anchor at San Francisco’s Chinese-language station KTSF Channel 26, was identified as a native of Hong Kong.
DHS then said that Mo came into the United States lawfully on a temporary basis, however, he then stayed after that period of time expired. “On January 13, 2020, Mo lawfully entered the U.S. on a temporary basis but illegally overstayed his welcome by failing to depart by May 15, 2020,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement made to the New York Post.
“Work authorization or a pending application do NOT confer legal status in the United States,” the spokesperson added. In a totally different statement given to the Daily Mail, Homeland Security then confirmed that Mo was taken into custody during a targeted operation. “DHS reversed the horrendous Biden-era policy that allowed aliens in our country illegally to jet around our country,” the department said.
According to a report from Trending Politics News, DHS also stressed that this kind of behavior would not be tolerated under President Donald Trump. “Under President Trump, DHS will no longer tolerate this. This administration is working diligently to ensure that aliens in our country illegally can no longer fly unless it is out of our country to self-deport.”
An additional source that spoke with the Daily Mail revealed that Mo was being detained at the Nevada Southern Detention Center located in Pahrump, just west of Sin City, and is expected to remain there pending the outcome of removal proceedings. Stefani, who is a Democrat, is the representative for California’s 19th Assembly District.
This area includes the city of San Francisco and northern San Mateo County. She also served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 2018 to 2024. She took her seat on the Assembly in December 2024. Mo became a member of Stefani’s staff in January 2025, according to information contained on his LinkedIn profile.
Before that, Mo served as an outreach organizer with the mission of reaching the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities on behalf of then-San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s 2024 reelection campaign, which was unsuccessful. “When we learned that Mo was available, we immediately saw an opportunity to bring him on board,” Breed spokesman Joe Arellano went on to say at the time.
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“His visibility through KTSF connects with a broad audience, and his professional background and experience made him a strong fit,” Arellano continued. As of this writing, Stefani has remained silent about Mo’s arrest. The incident occurred as federal enforcement operations have continued to be carried out at airports across the country as changes to travel screening policies have also been made. DHS stated that those policy changes are designed to prevent those without legal status from traveling domestically unless they are self-deporting.
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