Gov. Hochul defends NYC Council staffer arrested by ICE in State of the State

Arya Sundaram

Published Jan 13, 2026

Modified Jan 13, 2026

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Councilmembers protest ICE detaining a Council employee on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026.

Gerardo Romo / NYC Council Media Unit

Arya Sundaram

Published Jan 13, 2026

Modified Jan 13, 2026

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Gov. Kathy Hochul has taken up the cause of the New York City Council data analyst taken into ICE detention, decrying the arrest in her State of the State address.

“[Analysts] are not the baddest of the bad. Is that person really a threat?” Hochul said. “I will do whatever it takes to protect New Yorkers from criminals, but people of all political beliefs are saying the same thing about what we’ve seen lately has gone too far, and enough is enough.”

Hochul joined scores of other state and local officials who have publicly condemned the arrest of the worker, identified by the Department of Homeland Security as Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez, an immigrant from Venezuela.

Several public officials, including City Council Speaker Julie Menin and Mayor Zohran Mamdani, have called for his release.

Questions remain about Bohorquez’s immigration and work status.

Menin said in a press conference on Monday evening that the staffer had legal authorization to live and work in the United States through October 2026. But DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement later that night that Bohorquez had no work authorization or legal immigration status, having overstayed a tourist visa in 2017.

City Council Deputy Press Secretary Jack Lobel said Bohorquez provided documentation showing he was authorized to remain and work in the country, and fully cleared all background checks.

Bohorquez was a recipient of Temporary Protected Status, according to a city Council spokesperson. President Donald Trump announced early last year that he would revoke TPS for Venezuelans, and the Supreme Court sided with his decision.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website says that those with TPS-related work permits issued on or before Feb. 5, 2025 will maintain valid work authorization until Oct. 2, 2026. Bohorquez was hired in January 2025, according to a Council spokesperson.

McLaughlin also said that Bohorquez had been arrested for assault, though she did not say if he was convicted. Menin said that the staffer had signed a document attesting that he had never been arrested.

Lawyers for the New York Legal Assistance Group filed a habeas petition on the staffer’s behalf on Monday evening, according to spokespeople for the organization.

In a post on X, Mamdani said he was “outraged” by the Council employee’s detention and called for his immediate release. “This is an assault on our democracy, on our city, and our values,” Mamdani said. “I am calling for his immediate release and will continue to monitor the situation.”

State Attorney General Letitia James similarly demanded the immediate release of the staffer.

“We will not stand for attacks on our city, its public servants, and its residents,” James said in a post on X.

More than two dozen City Council members and staffers demanded Bohorquez’s release in a rally outside the ICE office on Varick Street near SoHo, where Menin said the staffer had once been held.

Bohorquez is currently being detained at the Orange County jail, according to ICE’s online detainee locator.

“Just like all of us, he wants to make this city work,” Matthew Molloy, president of the City Council staffers’ union, told reporters. “So we want to make sure that he comes home.”

This story was updated with additional information.

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