On January 12, 2026, DHS/ICE detained Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez, a 53-year-old Venezuelan New York City Council data analyst, during a routine immigration appointment in Nassau County. Explaining the arrest, DHS declared that he overstayed a 2017 tourist visa, lacked work authorization, and had a prior assault arrest, justifying the custody as targeting a “criminal illegal alien.”
The arrest sparked outrage from NYC leaders, including Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Council Speaker Julie Menin, and AG Letitia James, who demanded his immediate release, calling it an assault on democracy, government overreach, and attacks on public servants. Nonetheless, Bohorquez remains in an ICE facility in Manhattan amid conflicting claims about his legal status.
Reacting to the situation in a post to X, Mayor Zohran Mamdani whined, “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 to monitor the situation.”
Taking an alternative stance, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin smashed the socialist mayor’s narrative. “He had no legal right to be in the United States. 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,” she rebutted.
Agreeing with Mamdani, NYC Council Speaker Julie Menin said, “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. On the contrary, he was a city council employee who is doing everything right. He went to the court when he was asked.”
Likewise, New York Attorney General Letitia James made her own statement on X. “The @NYCCouncil
staffer being detained by ICE must be released immediately. I just spoke with @SpeakerMenin to express my support for her staff. We will not stand for attacks on our city, its public servants, and its residents,” she alleged.
Reacting to her post, conservatives blasted James for her out-of-touch comments. “Well, if that person is being detained by ICE, they must be in our country illegally, and it’s time for them to go! How are u the top, law enforcement official of NY, if u believe that your people are allowed to break our laws? U are the worse thing to ever happen to NY!” one response read.
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“Being in this country illegally is ILLEGAL! coming from a cracker box lawyer like yourself. sit down and shut up lady…your nothing but a crackheaded ,” another woman reacted. A New Yorker fired back, “How are you going against the constitution and the federal governance of our country? Whoever is illegally here and is a threat must be deported doesn’t matter what position they got”
Upse, another noted, “Harboring illegal aliens and allowing them to infiltrate our city government is the attack. BTW, aren’t you violating the residency requirement of your position?” Building on this point, a comment stated, “No one is above the law. Time to investigate all Attorney General’s need to be investigated including you.”
Watch Tom Homan threaten Zohran Mamdani and his sanctuary city here:
Featured image: By Thomas Good – Thomas Good / Next Left Notes, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5246174