City Council speaker celebrates staffer Rafael’s release from ICE detention, urges continued funding for immigrant defense

The City Council speaker celebrated the return of council staffer Rafael, who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for 158 days, calling his arrival at City Hall “one of those moments of unmitigated joy.” The speaker credited Bronx Defenders, the New York Legal Assistance Group, the New York Immigration Coalition and council staff for securing Rafael’s release and said the council would continue to fight on his behalf as the Department of Homeland Security has filed an appeal.

The return matters because Rafael’s case, advocates said, highlights what they described as systemic problems in the immigration detention and court systems and the need for sustained local investment in legal defense. “For 158 days, you were unjustly held by ICE in a detention facility,” the Council Speaker said, adding that Rafael had spent roughly two weeks in solitary confinement and was deprived of medicine that he needed.

Rafael addressed the gathering, thanking council staff and his attorneys. “You saved my life in many ways,” he said, naming Bronx Defenders and his attorney Wineth and saying he felt confident once his case was in their hands. Rafael said he is grateful to work in New York and to continue his case while living free in the city.

Carla Salazar, managing director of the immigration practice at Bronx Defenders, described the organization’s two-track legal strategy — challenging detention in federal court while pursuing relief in immigration court — and called it a national model. “Immigration court is not independent. Judges are employees of the U.S. Department of Justice,” Salazar said, arguing that that structure can undermine fair outcomes and citing recent practices she described as denying bond and fast‑tracking deportations.

Salazar singled out the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project, a city‑created public defense program for detained immigrants, as the legal infrastructure that made Rafael’s release possible and urged continued investment. The Council Speaker reiterated that as the council negotiates the municipal budget it is fighting to keep funding for programs that provide representation to detained immigrants.

Shani Adess, vice president of the New York Legal Assistance Group, said Rafael had followed scheduled interviews and legal processes yet was still detained and that securing his release required coordinated action by legal teams, advocates and elected officials. “We ask that in this city — this beautiful immigrant city — our local leaders remain by our side as we go forward,” Adess said, calling for sustained support for legal services and advocacy.

The officials present emphasized that Rafael’s release does not end the case: the Department of Homeland Security has filed an appeal to challenge newly granted asylum status, and advocates said continued legal work and funding will be necessary. The event closed with expressions of thanks from speakers and partners and a renewed call for the city to preserve defender programs that advocates say prevent wrongful deportation and preserve due process.