NEW YORK — New York City Council members and Department of Homeland Security officials are offering clashing portraits of the legislative employee detained this week at an immigration court appointment.
Local lawmakers demanding the release of their colleague — a data analyst and Venezuelan national — describe him as hard-working, law-abiding and one of many immigrants caught up in the Trump administration’s dragnet. He provided legal work authorization and cleared all background checks, they said.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, who disclosed that the man’s name is Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez, condemned a “criminal illegal alien” with an assault arrest on his record and a tourist visa that expired in 2017…