Mamdani demands immediate release of NYC Council staffer arrested by ICE: ‘An assault on our city’

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: What was supposed to be a standard immigration checkup on Long Island turned into a flashpoint on Monday after a New York City Council employee was taken into custody by federal immigration authorities.

City officials said the worker was detained during a “routine” immigration appointment in Bethpage, Nassau County, an episode they described as an “egregious government overreach.”

The arrest set off alarms at City Hall. Mayor Zohran Mamdani quickly condemned what he said was an attack on the city’s core values.

“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,” Mamdani said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter). “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.”

DHS cites visa violations and an assault arrest

The Department of Homeland Security defended the arrest, saying the employee is in the US illegally and has a criminal history that includes an arrest for assault. DHS did not provide any additional details about that alleged assault.

According to the agency, the staffer entered the country on a B2 tourist visa in 2017, which required him to leave later that same year. DHS says he never did.

“He had no legal right to be in the United States,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “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.”

DHS also said the employee was not authorized to work in the US, directly contradicting claims from city and congressional officials. 

New York City Council says he did everything right

NYC Council Speaker Julie Menin confirmed the worker was picked up by federal agents during his appointment in Bethpage earlier on Monday, January 12. She said the employee has legal authorization to remain in the country until October.

The council didn’t learn about the detention until Monday afternoon, when the employee used his single phone call to reach out to the council’s human resources department and report that he had been detained, 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,” Menin said during a press briefing on Monday. “On the contrary, he was a city council employee who is doing everything right. He went to the court when he was asked.”

Menin said the council is demanding the staffer’s return. She declined to identify him, citing privacy concerns, but said he is a “central staff member working as a data analyst for approximately a year.”

The employee has since been transferred to a detention center in Manhattan. Menin said the city council has been unable to reach his family members.

Democratic lawmakers chime in

Democratic Rep Dan Goldman said the employee in question is of Venezuelan descent and is a “law-abiding immigrant with work authorization.”

“I want to be very clear: There is no indication that there's anything about this individual other than his immigration status that caused him to be arrested,” Goldman said during Monday’s press briefing.

Goldman said his office has already reached out to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “We will continue to fight this,” he said. “We will continue to push for not only this person's release, which is so obviously necessary, but for this immigration dragnet to stop.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James called for the employee’s immediate release. “We will not stand for attacks on our city, its public servants, and its residents," she posted on X.

Gov Kathy Hochul also denounced the arrest and framed it as a warning sign of how immigration enforcement is being used.

"This is exactly what happens when immigration enforcement is weaponized," Hochul said in a statement on X. "Detaining people during routine court appearances doesn't make us safer," she added. "It erodes trust, spreads fear, and violates basic principles of fairness."