An ICE agent inside 26 Federal Plaza.
Photograph by Dean Moses
A New York Metropolis Council employee was detained by ICE brokers on Lengthy Island on Monday, in keeping with Metropolis Council Speaker Julie Menin.
The unnamed staffer, an information analyst for the Council, was taken into custody throughout what was presupposed to be a routine immigration listening to in Bethpage. In line with Menin, the worker had been legally permitted to remain within the U.S. till this October.
“We learned about this very disturbing situation late this afternoon when this employee called the City Council HR appointment for help and told them he had been detained,” Menin stated throughout an emergency press convention she referred to as on Jan. 12.
Making issues worse, the Metropolis Council was initially unable to achieve ICE to study extra concerning the detained worker.
“We immediately reached out to the ICE facility office at the Bethpage facility, but shockingly, the phone number doesn’t even work. It says that the number is disconnected. There is no public information about how to reach someone who is being detained at the Bethpage facility,” Menin stated. “There’s actually no way to reach out to this individual, and I just want to be clear, as Speaker of the City Council, I cannot even call this ICE detention center to collect information.”
The unnamed staffer, an information analyst for the Council, was taken into custody throughout what was presupposed to be a routine immigration listening to in Bethpage. In line with Menin, the worker had been legally permitted to remain within the U.S. till this October.Screenshot by way of YouTube/@NYCcouncil
Menin acknowledged that she has since realized that the detained particular person, who hails from Venezuela, has since been transferred to a detention middle on Varick Avenue in Decrease Manhattan. She additionally careworn that he was not solely on a piece visa, but in addition that he had by no means been arrested or convicted of a criminal offense.
The speaker referred to as the staffer’s detention by ICE an unprecedented “breach of liberty” and an extra signal that nobody is protected from hurt from the federal company.
“This is, I want to say, the first time this has ever happened to a City Council Employee, and it must be the only time that this ever happens. But unfortunately, this breach of liberty is hardly an exception,” Menin stated. Given latest occasions throughout the nation, we’ve seen aggressive escalations by ICE that threaten the liberty and security of each American. These escalations elevate critical issues about overreach.”
US Rep. Dan Goldman faces off with an ICE agent.Photograph by Dean Moses
“We are looking at all legal options right now,” the speaker added.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani stated in an announcement that he was “outraged” to study of the Metropolis Council staffer’s detainment, and publicly demanded their launch.
“This is an assault on our democracy, on our city, and our values,” Mamdani stated. “I am calling for his immediate release and will continue to monitor the situation.”
U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman, who has spent months himself railing towards ICE operations within the Huge Apple and immigration courtroom at 26 Federal Plaza, additionally spoke out towards the beautiful detainment.
“I want to be very clear: there is no indication that there is anything about this individual other than his immigration status that caused him to be arrested,” Goldman stated. “Venezuela, as we know, is in massive turmoil. The President was just abducted and kidnapped by our United States government. There is a temporary, chaotic government. There is nothing safe and secure about that country.”
The analyst has labored for the Metropolis Council for about one yr and, in keeping with these with information of the incident, made their solely name to the Metropolis Council HR division for assist. As of Monday night, his colleagues had been unable to contact his household.
Queens Metropolis Council Member Tiffany Cabán referred to as the Metropolis Council worker’s detainment a “kidnapping.”
“A public servant was detained by ICE. Masked police kidnapping a City Council employee who works day in and day out for New Yorkers does not make us safe,” she stated. “Trump’s deportation agenda was never about safety. It’s about scapegoating immigrants for problems caused by billionaires. Free our neighbors. Abolish ICE.”
The staffer’s detention comes amid citywide and nationwide protests towards ICE following the deadly capturing of Renee Nicole Good on Jan. 7 as she tried to drive away from masked, closely armed ICE brokers in Minneapolis. Immigration enforcement has been rising more and more extra aggressive, resulting in unrest all through the nation.
