Brooklyn deacon detained by ICE during immigration raid
Jan 18, 2026
A deacon at a church in Brooklyn was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials last week.
Sebastian Renoj Ordoñez, originally from Guatemala, was arrested Thursday as part of an immigration raid in Bensonhurst.
Council Member Susan Zhuang said ICE has been in the neighborhoo
d almost every day last week.
“It’s [heartbreaking] for me. Most of them, they’re not criminals but ICE just detains people without checking their background,” Zhuang said Friday
Video reportedly shows an ICE vehicle waiting outside the deacon’s building where federal officials detained several people.
According to Ordoñez’s friends and family, he has no history of violence and has spent decades serving his community.
NBC New York reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment, but have not heard back.
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