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Socialist Democrat Mayor Zohran Mamdani called for the immediate release of an illegal alien who was detained by federal immigration officials while he was trying to complete a routine immigration appointment.
Fifty-three-year-old Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez is originally from Venezuela but was working as a data analyst at New York City Hall before he was detained.
'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.'
"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," the mayor wrote on social media Tuesday.
"This is an assault on our democracy, on our city, and our values," he added. "I am calling for his immediate release and will continue to monitor the situation."
Bohorquez is being held at a detention center in Manhattan.
In a statement at a media briefing, New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin said Bohorquez had been detained despite "doing everything right."
"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," Menin said. "On the contrary, he was a City Council employee who is doing everything right. He went to the court when he was asked."
She went on to say the man was a victim of "egregious government overreach."
Authorities claim that Bohorquez had a previous arrest for assault, according to WABC-TV, and Department of Homeland Security said he did not have work authorization to stay in the U.S.
New York City Council contradicted the claims from DHS.
"Contrary to claims by DHS, the City Council employee provided documentation showing he was authorized to remain and work in the country," they said to Newsweek. "He fully cleared all background checks. Any suggestion to the contrary is false."
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DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said that he had entered "on a B2 tourist visa in 2017 that required him to depart the U.S. by October 22, 2017" and called him a "criminal illegal alien."
"He had no legal right to be in the United States," she added.
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