New York City Council worker released from ICE custody 5 months after being detained

A New York City Council worker who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in January is now back home.

Rafael Rubio joined council members Saturday to talk about his experience at the Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark, New Jersey.

What happened to Rafael Rubio

Rubio, a data analyst working for the City Council, was detained by ICE on Jan. 12, he says, at a routine asylum interview on Long Island.

He said he was taken into custody despite having legal protection to live and work in the U.S., adding his temporary protected status as a citizen of Venezuela lasts through October 2026.

Rubio was set to be deported and spent five months at Delaney Hall.

Council Speaker Julie Menin and Rubio's attorney, along with a slew of immigration advocates, fought for his release, and he got out on June 19.  

In a statement Sunday to CBS News New York, the Department of Homeland Security called Rubio "a criminal illegal alien from Venezuela" with a criminal history that "includes an arrest for assault," adding, "He had no work authorization and his TPS had been terminated."

"Rubio entered the United States on a B2 tourist visa in 2017 that required him to depart the U.S. by October 22, 2017. He overstayed his visa in violation of our laws," the DHS spokesperson continued. "He was ordered released by an Obama-appointed, activist judge on June 19, 2026, on bond. He's additionally been enrolled in [Alternatives to Detention] for check-ins. We will do everything in our power to fight for the removal of this criminal illegal alien. He will receive full due process." 

Menin has disputed DHS's claims that Rubio overstayed a visa, was arrested and had no work authorization. 

"A whole nightmare"

Rubio said he was scared and felt that he would never get out of Delaney Hall.  

"When you called me that night, when we had that conversation, I felt like I went back to life because I was in a really dark place at that moment," Rubio told Menin. "So thank you for what you did."

"For 158 days, you were living behind bars in poor conditions. For two weeks, in solitary confinement," Menin said. "Deprived of vital medicine that you needed, and thinking that your life was over as you knew it and that your dreams of a better opportunity were gone." 

"A whole nightmare from the first minute that I got detained, I was very worried about my situation, what my future would look like," Rubio said. "I'm not that guy that they are describing. I am not a criminal, I have never been [a criminal], and yeah, it was a very scary situation to be in."

Mayor Zohran Mamdani released a statement on Rubio's release, saying, in part, "New York City will continue to stand alongside Rafael as he defends his right to remain here. And we will continue to stand alongside every New Yorker whose dignity, due process and fundamental rights are threatened. That is what our city demands, and it is what every person deserves."

Rubio said his fight is not over yet. He said the government has appealed, but he is confident with the merits of his case and his legal representation.