A City Council employee, held by ICE since mid-January, faced a setback on Monday when an immigration judge denied his bail request. Federal prosecutors contended he presented a risk to the community.
Rafael Andrés Rubio Bojórquez, a Venezuelan data analyst, will continue his detention at a Hudson Valley facility after being taken into custody by federal agents during a court check-in in Long Island on January 12.
During the hearing, lawyers from the Department of Homeland Security argued that he should remain in custody due to a prior arrest this year, where he allegedly assaulted his roommate, causing a broken nose in the process. Although those charges were later dropped and sealed, a DHS attorney claimed he misrepresented his criminal history in both his asylum application and temporary protected status.
Rubio Bojórquez’s attorney, Roger Asmar, contended that his client didn’t see the need to disclose the arrest since the charges had been expunged.
Asmar also pointed out that video footage of the incident depicted a struggle over sock-wearing, with the roommate also facing arrest during the altercation. “There’s no reason my client shouldn’t be released,” Asmar argued, but the judge, Conroy, countered with, “He has not proven he is not dangerous.”
Reactions from elected officials have been supportive of Rubio Bojórquez, who started his role in the council in January 2025. Mayor Zoran Mamdani and City Council President Julie Menin have both rallied for him.
City representatives assert that he has permission to remain in the U.S. until October 2026, even after President Trump ended a legal protection program for Venezuelans initiated under the previous administration. However, DHS officials counter that he lacks legal status, having initially entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in 2017, which required him to leave months later.
Additionally, Rubio Bojórquez has filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court in Brooklyn.
