Immigration choose orders NYC Council worker deportation, sparks metropolis backlash

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An immigration choose has ordered the deportation of a former New York Metropolis Council worker federal officers mentioned in January was an undocumented immigrant with a previous assault arrest.

Metropolis Council Speaker Julie Menin introduced the deportation ruling on Wednesday, condemning it as a "miscarriage of justice and wholly deplorable" and pledging to struggle again by submitting an enchantment.

Two months in the past, Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez, 53, was detained throughout an immigration appointment and was recognized by the Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) as a Venezuelan "felony unlawful alien" who overstayed his visa.

Federal officers mentioned regardless of having no work authorization, Rubio Bohorquez was employed by the New York Metropolis council as a knowledge analyst for roughly one yr.

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DHS mentioned the New York Metropolis Council worker it arrested, Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez, is a Venezuelan unlawful immigrant with a felony historical past. (DHS)

Native officers, together with Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Menin, strongly disputed DHS claims, stressing that Rubio Bohorquez had authorized authorization to stay within the U.S., together with the suitable to work.

"Immediately, Choose Conroy ordered the elimination of Rafael Rubio, our Metropolis Council worker, from america," Menin mentioned. "We're outraged and can proceed to pursue each authorized avenue to safe his launch and guarantee his case is correctly heard on enchantment."

"That is an affront to justice," Mamdani added in a publish on X. "A devoted public servant with authorized authorization to stay within the nation, Rafael confirmed up for a routine immigration appointment and, regardless of following the principles, he was detained and has now been held for months."

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Julie Menin, speaker of the New York Metropolis Council, throughout an announcement within the Brooklyn borough of New York, US, on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (John Lamparski/Bloomberg)

Rubio Bohorquez entered america on a B2 vacationer visa in 2017, which required him to depart the identical yr, in line with DHS. In the meantime, Menin mentioned the workers member had been cleared to stay within the nation till October 2026.

She additional referred to as his immigration order a "technical error" associated to his asylum utility. The staffer reportedly had a lacking signature on his papers and was denied the chance to rectify it, a course of which Rubio Bohorquez’s lawyer mentioned would solely take one hour, the New York Put up reported , citing Menin.

"Immediately’s ruling seems to hinge on a procedural difficulty associated to his asylum utility," Menin added. "That's extraordinarily troubling. A technical error mustn't decide the destiny of a person who has performed all the pieces proper and poses no threat to anybody."

New York Metropolis Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks to reporters throughout a information convention in New York on Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photograph/Seth Wenig)

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Native officers added that they may file an enchantment and demanded Rubio Bohorquez’s instant launch till the authorized proceedings are accomplished.

"Let me be clear: Rafael mustn't proceed to be detained whereas that is sorted out," Menin mentioned. "An enchantment can be filed, and we demand that Rafael’s case be correctly heard by the deadline on April 17. At a minimal, he must be launched pending that enchantment. There isn't any justification for persevering with to carry him below these circumstances."