Rafael Rubio, detained by ICE on Long Island Jan. 12, released after months of detention

A New York City Council employee from Venezuela who was detained by federal immigration officers for more than five months has been released, officials said.

Rafael Rubio, a data analyst for the City Council, spent 158 days in detention facilities after he was taken into custody earlier this year on Long Island when he was set to attend a scheduled asylum interview in Bethpage. He was released late last week before federal officials appealed an immigration judge’s decision that granted Rubio temporary asylum. His detention became a political flashpoint in a heated debate over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

During a City Hall news conference celebrating Rubio's release hosted by Council Speaker Julie Menin Saturday afternoon, an emotional Rubio said he was in “a really dark place” during his detention but said he gathered strength from the support he received.

“You saved my life,” Rubio told Menin, whose team worked to organize legal support.

Immigration Customs Enforcement detained Rubio on Jan. 12 in Bethpage, Newsday reported. A day after he was detained, the Department of Homeland Security said in a release that Rubio was “a criminal illegal alien” with a criminal history that included an assault charge. A City Council spokesperson on Saturday said the charge had been dropped.  

Fewer than 5% of immigrants jailed through a partnership between ICE and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman had violent records, despite rhetoric from local and federal officials that the effort was meant to target dangerous criminals, a Newsday analysis found.

ICE did not immediately respond to a request for more information.

Rubio’s immigration status was disputed between federal and local officials.

Rubio entered the United States in April 2017 on a tourist visa that required him to leave the country by October 2017, according to DHS. City Council officials, though, said Rubio had temporary protected status that lasted through October 2026.

Trump ended the Temporary Protected Status program, known as TPS, for Venezuelans in early 2025, and the Supreme Court upheld that decision last fall. Rubio’s attorney at the time argued in court documents his client’s TPS protections remained valid and that he therefore couldn’t be detained legally.

A judge on May 27 granted Rubio asylum, who was released from Delaney Hall Detention Facility on June 19 after securing a $5,000 bond. Federal officials appealed the decision on June 22, according to the City Council.

“We are relieved that Mr. Rubio is back home, but what it took to get him home should alarm every New Yorker,” said Karla Ostolaza, managing director of the Immigrant Defense Practice at The Bronx Defenders, who represented Rubio, said in the release.

Menin said Rubio endured solitary confinement and was deprived of medication during his detainment. Menin said he was “a source of inspiration for all of us.”

Rubio’s case was an example of the “cruelty and frequent injustice of the system,” Menin said.

Shani Adess, vice president of the New York Legal Assistance Group, said Rubio followed the legal requirements to remain in the United States and that his detainment was illegal.

“It shouldn’t take multiple elected officials, teams of lawyers, advocates and very vocal colleagues to free one person, especially someone who never should have been detained in the first place,” Adess said at the news conference. 

Rubio said he looked forward to battling his case while out of custody. 

"I love New York," he said. "I love this city."

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ