Congressman Dan Goldman Statement in Response to DHS Lies about Detained Council Staffer

“Department of Homeland Security spokesperson ‘Tricia from Ohio,’ is back to doing what she does best: gaslighting the American people. Her statement that the staffer ‘had no legal right to be in the United States’ is a bald-faced lie. In truth, the NYC Council employee was lawfully in the United States and properly authorized to work here. 

“This staffer had Temporary Protected Status (TPS) because of the brutal Maduro regime and then obtained work authorization pursuant to that status. 

“As part of his application to work for the Council, this staffer cleared the standard background check conducted for all applicants. Yet Tricia from Ohio cites an unspecified previous ‘arrest’ as grounds for his detention. I urge Secretary Noem to ask her boss about the importance of due process in this country, including the fundamental concept of innocent until proven guilty. An arrest is simply not a basis for deportation.  

“The Trump administration’s renewed efforts to arrest and deport Venezuelans is undermined by its own misguided and unauthorized military operation expressly designed to topple the brutal Maduro regime. Venezuela is no safer today under the leadership of his so-called vice president than it was under Maduro, when even this administration agreed it was unsafe for Venezuelans to be deported. After acknowledging the oppression and violence of that regime, it is unconscionable and outrageous for the administration to try to deport this staffer and other Venezuelans back to a country in such chaos.

“The arrest and attempted deportation of the Council staffer is yet another example of this rogue administration targeting immigrants escaping violence and corruption who are meaningfully contributing to our country — in this case serving the people of New York City. Tricia from Ohio and her boss, Secretary Kristi Noem, should focus their enforcement efforts on the ‘worst of the worst,’ as the president promised during his campaign.  

“We will continue to work around the clock to ensure that the Council staffer gets the justice he deserves.”

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