Guests
- Rafael Andres Rubio BohorquezNew York City Council employee and asylum seeker from Venezuela.
- Gwyneth Hessersenior staff attorney at The Bronx Defenders.
A New York City Council employee who was detained at the Delaney Hall ICE jail in Newark, New Jersey, for more than five months was released from custody in June. Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez was taken by federal immigration officers in January during a routine asylum interview. Rubio Bohorquez, who is from Venezuela, was detained despite holding temporary protected status that should have shielded him from deportation.
“People are sad; detainees are sad. It’s people that try to build a future in this country, people that have complied with the law,” says Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez of detained immigrants he met while being held in multiple ICE jails. “They have paid their taxes. They are raising families.”
Rubio Bohorquez says he fears being detained again, even though his attorney Gwyneth Hesser says that would be in violation of a court order. “But it seems right now that’s not that much solace, because sometimes things are happening that are outside of the law,” says Hesser.
Transcript
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman.
We turn now to the case of a New York City Council employee who was released in June after being detained at the immigration jail Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey, for more than five months. Rafael Rubio was taken by federal immigration officers in January during a routine asylum interview, despite having legal protections to live and work in the United States. He had TPS, temporary protected status, as a citizen of Venezuela, that was valid through October 2026. Following numerous legal setbacks, including a deportation order, Rafael Rubio was granted asylum in May by an immigration judge and was finally released in June after 158 days in custody.
For more, we are joined by Rafael Rubio and his lawyer, Gwyneth Hesser, senior staff attorney at The Bronx Defenders.
We welcome you both to Democracy Now! Rafael, wow, talk about the day you were taken and whether you thought this was going to happen in any way.
RAFAEL ANDRES RUBIO BOHORQUEZ: I mean, yeah. Thank you for having me.
It was a very difficult experience for me. I didn’t know. I kind of had an idea when I was on my way to that interview, to that appointment, that something could go wrong, and eventually did. It was a very difficult experience to go through and to navigate through. When I was wrapping up the asylum interview with the asylum officer, I noticed that he was like really, really nervous and anxious. And then, when he told me that I needed to turn off my cellphone and put it back in my backpack and proceed, and proceed to the next room to be met by somebody that he didn’t actually identify, I felt that something was really off at that moment. And then, when I got — when I was greeted by this person who identified himself to be as an ICE agent, then I knew that something was about to happen.
AMY GOODMAN: And you were taken right to Delaney Hall?
RAFAEL ANDRES RUBIO BOHORQUEZ: No, I was actually taken to OCJ, in Orange County Jail, in upstate New York, Goshen.
AMY GOODMAN: Uh-huh.
RAFAEL ANDRES RUBIO BOHORQUEZ: Yes.
AMY GOODMAN: And then?
RAFAEL ANDRES RUBIO BOHORQUEZ: And then I was transferred to MDC, Brooklyn. And then I was transferred to Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey.
AMY GOODMAN: Gwyneth Hesser, what happened here?
GWYNETH HESSER: I mean, that’s what they’re doing now. I’ve had clients detained when they show up for court. Rafael showed up for his interview. And they’re transferring people. They don’t give notice. I have clients that have been taken down south. Luckily, Rafael was able to stay in this area. But this is what we’re seeing now.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about the moment of your release and being there with the New York City Council speaker? I want to go to that clip — we played it in our billboard — of that moment, when everyone saw that, Rafael, you were free.
RAFAEL ANDRES RUBIO BOHORQUEZ: Thank you so much. You saved my life, in many ways. Thank you.
AMY GOODMAN: Julie Menin, the City Council speaker. Can you explain what the City Council did, what she did? Not everyone has a city council speaker to free them.
RAFAEL ANDRES RUBIO BOHORQUEZ: Correct, backing you up. Yeah, that’s — that was — I mean, I cannot thank her enough for what she did. I had been denied my asylum claim, and I also had been denied my first habeas. And at that point, I was — I felt that I had no hope to stay in the United States. And then, all of a sudden, she called me. I mean, I called one of her closest assistants, Miguelina Camilo, and she happened to be right next to her when I called her. So, she was actually waiting for that call. And then we had a conversation over the phone, and she told me that I needed to do something, like changing my legal representation, the one that I had at the moment. And she told me that she has spoken with The Bronx Defenders and that she wanted me to retain their services as my legal representation moving forward, which I did, and with the results that we had.
AMY GOODMAN: Gwyneth Hesser, if you can explain more? You have Rafael granted asylum in the U.S., but the federal government is appealing this decision?
GWYNETH HESSER: Yes, they are. And he wasn’t released initially, even with having been granted asylum, because they stated their intent to appeal, they get 30 days. And so, we actually needed a federal judge to order a bond hearing in immigration court, so that we could do a bond hearing to get him released.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, can you tell us the stories of people inside, and also if you heard the protesters outside, and what that meant to you?
RAFAEL ANDRES RUBIO BOHORQUEZ: I did. Stories inside those detention facilities, difficult stories. People are sad; detainees are sad. It’s people that have tried to build a future in this country, people that have complied with the law and everything. They have followed the law. They have paid their taxes. They are raising families and children and whatnot. And all of the sudden, they are stuck in that limbo.
AMY GOODMAN: How long did it take you to get your blood pressure medication?
RAFAEL ANDRES RUBIO BOHORQUEZ: Like three weeks.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about your treatment in Delaney?
RAFAEL ANDRES RUBIO BOHORQUEZ: Of course. Every time that you get transferred, it seems like they lost record, like they don’t keep track of the record accurately. So, every time that I got transferred, it will take me like a week or two weeks for them to timely deliver my medication. That was the case with Delaney Hall, as well. When I was ultimately transferred the last time to that facility, because I have been transferred to that facility, then transferred back over to Brooklyn once, it took them like two weeks or so to provide me with my medication. So, I take my high blood pressure medication, and I cannot — that cannot be disrupted like that.
AMY GOODMAN: We have been reporting on the horror of the earthquakes in Venezuela, over a hundred Venezuelans deported there hours before the earthquake. It’s believed over a hundred have been killed. Are you afraid of being taken once again, even with the judge’s ruling freeing you?
RAFAEL ANDRES RUBIO BOHORQUEZ: If I tell you the truth, yes.
AMY GOODMAN: And, Gwyneth Hesser, what can be done to stop that from happening?
GWYNETH HESSER: I mean, luckily, because he had the judge’s order granting his release on bond, I’ve explained to Rafael that they really cannot detain him again. It would be in violation of the court order. But it seems right now that’s not that much solace, because sometimes things are happening that are outside of the law. So, in theory, it shouldn’t happen, but —
RAFAEL ANDRES RUBIO BOHORQUEZ: Correct.
GWYNETH HESSER: Yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, thank you so much for taking this time. I’m sorry about what has happened to you, and we’ll continue to follow your case. Rafael Rubio, New York City Council employee, just released after being detained at Delaney Hall for five months, an asylum seeker from Venezuela, and Gwyneth Hesser, senior staff attorney at The Bronx Defenders.
That does it for our show. I’ll be in Kansas City July 17th and 18th. I’m Amy Goodman. Thank you.
Media Options