Overview
- The Venezuelan data analyst was taken into custody during a scheduled immigration appointment in Bethpage, Nassau County, and later moved to the federal detention facility on Varick Street in Manhattan.
- City Council Speaker Julie Menin says the employee has legal authorization to remain and work through October and reported the Council learned of the detention from the worker’s single phone call to HR.
- DHS says the man overstayed a 2017 B2 tourist visa, lacks work authorization, and has a prior assault arrest, claims that city officials and allies dispute as they describe him as law-abiding with work authorization.
- Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Attorney General Letitia James, and Rep. Dan Goldman called for immediate release, with officials condemning the detention as government overreach and pressing for transparency from ICE.
- Attorneys, including the New York Legal Assistance Group, are pursuing legal remedies such as a planned habeas filing, as the Council reports difficulty contacting ICE and the employee’s family.