Habeas Denied for NYC Council Staffer from Venezuela Detained by ICE Per SDNY Judge

Habeas Denied for NYC Council Staffer from Venezuela Detained by ICE Per SDNY Judge by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack SDNY COURTHOUSE, March 23 – A man from Venezuela was detained by ICE at his appointment with the Asylum Office in Bethpage, New York on January 12. Later that day the NY Legal Assistance Group filed a habeas corpus petition in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, where Inner City Press found it.     The petition said that R.A.R.B. was granted Temporary Protected Status and has no criminal record. While not in the ICE Detainee Locator, "it is the Respondents' practice to hold detainees in this posture at 26 Federal Plaza."   It says he is "engaged in supporting his community as an employee of the NYC Council, where he has worked since 2025." On January 13 it was assigned to Judge John P. Cronan, who set a January 16 hearing, at noon. On February 4 the US Attorney's Office filed papers including a February 2 denial of bond to Rafael Andrew Rubio Bohorquez by Immigration Judge Charles Conroy. A declaration says he was arrested in Queens on March 29, 2023 and charged with Assault and harassment but the charges were dropped and the arrest record sealed. On February 6 NYC Corporation Counsel Muriel Goode-Trufant filed a proposed 14 page amicus brief, arguing among other things that "today Mr. Rubio is employed by the City Council, where he works as a Data Analyst and Compliance Associate in the Personnel Services Division.. he 'goes the extra mile.'" On March 23 Judge Cronan denied the petition, writing that RARB's "Petition does not actually present arguments for why former-Secretary Noem’s vacatur and termination decisions were unlawful."   The case is s- or was - R.A.R.B. v. Francis, et al., 1:26-cv-264 (Cronan) *** Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron. Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com SDNY Press Room 500 Pearl Street, NY NY 10007 USA Mail: Box 130222, Chinatown Station, NY NY 10013 Reporter's mobile (and weekends): 718-716-3540 Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.  Copyright 2006-2026 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com