A Manhattan federal judge on Monday declined to release a City Council staffer detained by ICE as he awaits possible deportation.
Manhattan Federal Judge John Cronan wrote in his denial that the U.S. had lawfully cancelled Rafael Rubio’s temporary protected status, or TPS. His decision to shut down the habeas corpus petition came despite another federal judge ruling last year such revocations of TPS were illegal.
“To be sure, Rubio’s Petition does not actually present arguments for why former-Secretary Noem’s vacatur and termination decisions were unlawful… But that’s precisely the point — Rubio should not be able to use Judge Chen’s rulings to dodge the issue,” Cronan said in the 22-page ruling, referencing the other judge’s previous ruling. “If Rubio believes the vacatur and termination decisions were unlawful, he must explain why that is so. His failure to do so dooms his Petition.”
Rubio, a data analyst from Venezuela, was arrested in January and has been in detention since. An immigration judge denied his asylum case, ordering his removal from the U.S., last week.
It was not immediately clear what bearing the judge’s ruling in the habeas case — which operates separately from the government’s immigration case — would have on his deportation.
Lawyers for Rubio did not immediately respond for comment.
“I am disappointed by today’s decision to deny Rafael’s habeas petition. This is a deeply unjust outcome,” Speaker Menin said in a statement. “Rafael has had legal authorization to live and work in the United States and did everything he was asked to maintain good standing. He should be home while his immigration case proceeds, rather than suffering a prolonged detention.”