New York City’s Democrat socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, is “outraged” over federal officials detaining a city council staffer accused of overstaying his visa after being involved in an assault case.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identified the man as 53-year-old Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez, Fox News reported Monday.
Mamdani addressed the situation in a social media post, writing, “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.”
However, federal officials said the man overstayed a 2017 tourist visa and was arrested in an assault case.
In a statement, New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin claimed, “He had legal authorization to remain in the country until October of this year,” but DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said, “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.”
Menin further claimed DHS said the man was at a routine court appointment when he was detained and that he had voluntarily arrived at court when asked to do so.
Fox 5 reported Rubio Bohorquez is a Venezuelan national. He was reportedly working for the council as a data analyst.
“According to DHS, Rubio Bohorquez entered the U.S. on a B-2 tourist visa in 2017 and was required to leave the country by Oct. 22 of that year,” the outlet said, adding, “They say he overstayed the visa and had no work authorization and that his criminal history includes an arrest for assault.”
For now, authorities are holding Bohorquez at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Manhattan, per Fox News.
In December, McLaughlin said the sanctuary city is harboring over 7,000 known criminal illegal aliens and purposefully shielding them from immigration officials, her comments coming as President Donald Trump’s administration has been working to crack down on illegal alien crime hurting Americans, according to Breitbart News.
“Today in New York City’s jails are 7,169 criminal illegal aliens. We’re talking about hundreds of murderers, hundreds of sexual predators, drug traffickers, the worst of the worst,” she stated.
Meanwhile, Mamdani, who was sworn in on January 1 as mayor while taking the oath of office with his hand on an Islamic Quran, has previously said he will defend the rights of illegals to live in New York City.
He has also declared, “The Trump administration is waging war on the First Amendment and our constitutional rights as it continues to abduct New Yorkers from across our city. Any effort to cooperate with these efforts is a moral stain on our city. We should strengthen our sanctuary city laws.”
In addition, the mayor has told illegals how to “stand up” to ICE agents, Breitbart News reported in December.
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