Mayor Zohran Mamdani Slams ICE After NYC Council Staffer Is Detained

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was outraged Monday after learning that a city council staff member had been detained by federal immigration officers earlier that day. 

“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,” Mamdani wrote on the social platform X.

“This is an assault on our democracy, on our city, and our values,” Mamdani noted, adding that he would “continue to monitor the situation.”

According to the Hill, the detained employee was attending a “routine immigration appointment” on Long Island when he was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The man is reportedly of Venezuelan descent, but has obtained documentation to legally remain in the country until November. 

“We are doing everything we can to secure his immediate release, and we demand swift and transparent action by the federal government on this apparent overreach,” New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin said in a statement.

Later that same evening, during a press conference at City Hall, Menin noted that “…the employee had been moved to a detention center on Varick Street in Manhattan. She said the employee used his one call to reach out to the city council’s Human Resources department for help,” The Hill reports. 

Menin added that she’s spoken with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which confirmed the employee was in custody but provided “no other basis” for his detainment.

“I just want to be clear, as speaker of the city council, I cannot even call this ICE detention center to collect information or demand his release,” Menin said.

“I’m an elected official running a body, and I cannot contact a federal facility. What kind of accountability or transparency is that?” she asked.

Republican Congressman Dan Goldman, who represents New York’s 10th district, added that immigration status was the only reason the staffer had been arrested. 

“I’m sorry we have to be here for what is becoming an all too routine situation, which is that a law-abiding immigrant with work authorization who is allowed to be here does the right thing and goes to their required check-in at a nice facility and instead of getting rewarded for doing the right thing and following the right way, he is arrested and detained and likely on a path to removal unless it can be stopped,” he said.  

A protest is scheduled for Tuesday in Manhattan to demand the immediate release of the City Council staffer.

SEE ALSO:

When A Muslim Democratic Socialist Mayor Has An Africana Studies Degree

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Announces Universal Child Care Plan