BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11) – A Brooklyn deacon has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to Councilmember Susan Zhuang.

Sebastian Ordonez, 58, was detained Thursday morning by ICE agents after leaving his Brooklyn apartment building because he lacked legal immigration status, according to Zhuang.

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Ordonez is from Guatemala, but his family and close friends say he has no history of violent crime and has been part of the Brooklyn community for nearly 20 years.

His lawyer, Michael Musa-Obregon, believes his client is not legally in the country.

“Everybody is entitled to due process. You cannot just randomly walk up to people, racially profile them, look at them like they’re other, and because of the color of their skin and their mannerisms or whatever other things you have as an agent in your brain, assume or presume that they are here illegally,” Obregon said.

On Friday, Zhuang, Bishop Salgado, and other community members gathered to demand that federal representatives act swiftly to end federal immigration enforcement. They are also calling for Ordonez’s release from custody.

“We have to stand up against this nonsense. Against this illegal act by our president,” Councilmember Susan Zhuang said. “We have to make sure everyone deserves due process, regardless of what legal status you have in this country.”

Solidarity follows Ordonez’s detention and the federal visa ban on 75 countries deemed likely to need public assistance in the U.S.

PIX11 News reached out to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for details on Ordonez’s detention, but the department was not immediately available to comment.

Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist from El Paso, Texas. He has covered local news and LGBTQIA topics in the New York City Metro area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can see more of his work here.

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