Overview
- The Venezuelan data analyst was taken into custody during a routine immigration appointment in Bethpage and transferred to the Varick Street detention facility in Manhattan.
- City Council Speaker Julie Menin says DHS confirmed the appointment was routine and asserts the staffer had authorization to live and work in the U.S. through October.
- DHS publicly countered that account, alleging the employee overstayed a 2017 tourist visa, lacked work authorization, and had an arrest for assault, claims city officials dispute.
- Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Governor Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James, and Rep. Dan Goldman called for the staffer’s immediate release and greater transparency from federal agencies.
- The New York Legal Assistance Group says it is preparing an emergency habeas petition, as officials note increased ICE activity at the Bethpage office and say this is the first detention of a Council staffer.