A New York City Council employee was detained Monday during a “routine” hearing with an immigration officer on Long Island, according to city officials, who described the incident as a “flagrant expansion of government authority”reports ABC News.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was “outraged” by the employee's arrest.
“This is an attack on our democracy, our city and our values,” he wrote on X. “I demand his immediate release and will continue to monitor the situation.”
The Department of Homeland Security defended the man's detention Monday night, arguing that the employee is in the U.S. illegally and has a record, including an arrest for assault. The agency did not provide additional details.
DHS said the employee entered the US on a B2 tourist visa in 2017, which required him to leave the country within that year.
“He had no legal right to be in the United States”DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “Sub Secretary of State Noem, illegal immigrants are not welcome in the United States. If you come to our country illegally and break the law, we will find you and arrest you.”
The employee was detained by federal immigration officials during a hearing in Bethpage, Nassau County, on Monday morning, according to New York City Council President Julie Menin.
She emphasized that the employee has permission to stay in the country until October.
The city council learned of his detention Monday afternoon when the employee used his right to one phone call to contact the council's human resources department and ask for help after he was detained, according to Menin.
“DHS confirmed that the employee had appeared for a routine court appointment and was nonetheless detained. They provided no other basis for his detention.” Menin said during a press conference on Monday. “On the contrary, he was a local council employee who does everything right. He appeared in court when asked.”
Menin said the local council is seeking the release of the employee, who he did not identify, citing privacy concerns. It is one “important staff member, working as a data analyst for about a year”she said.
The man is allegedly in the US illegally
New York Democratic Congressman Dan Goldman said the employee is of Venezuelan descent and is a “law-abiding immigrant with work authorization.”
“I want to be very clear: There is no indication that anything about this individual, other than his immigration status, that led to his arrest“, he declared during Monday's press conference.
DHS, on the other hand, insisted that the employee had no right to work in the US.
He was transferred to a detention center in Manhattan, according to Menin. She said the local council had been unable to get in touch with her family members.
Goldman said his office has contacted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“We will continue to fight against these actions,” he said. “We will continue to push not only for this person's release, which is clearly necessary, but for this manhunt to end.”
New York State Attorney General Letitia James also called for the employee's immediate release, stating on X: “We will not tolerate attacks on our city, its public servants and its residents.”
In response to the incident, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul said: “That's exactly what happens when immigration enforcement is used as a weapon.”
“Detaining people during regular court appointments does not make us safer. It erodes trust, spreads fear and violates fundamental principles of fairness.”
