January 15, 2026

ICE agents detained a Brooklyn deacon outside his home without explaining the arrest or reading him his rights, court filings say

On the morning of January 15, 2026, ICE agents detained Deacon Sebastian Renoj Ordoñez and several neighbors outside his Bensonhurst, Brooklyn apartment building as they left for work; according to federal court filings, officers did not explain the arrest or read him his rights. Ordoñez, a church leader for 18 years with no criminal record and U.S.-citizen children and grandchildren, was transferred within 48 hours to a detention facility in Newark, New Jersey. DHS said he had previously been deported under a false identity in 2000, while a federal judge ordered a pause on any further transfer or deportation and directed that he receive a bond hearing within 10 days.

Jurisdiction: Federal
Location: Brooklyn, New York

Abuses documented

Actors

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

On the morning of January 15, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained Deacon Sebastian Renoj Ordoñez and several of his neighbors outside his Bay Parkway apartment building in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, as they were leaving for work. According to federal court filings, officers did not explain the arrest or read Ordoñez his rights. Ordoñez, originally from Guatemala, had been a leader at Iglesia Misionera de Jóvenes Cristianos for 18 years and, according to his pastor and City Council Member Susan Zhuang, had no criminal record. His attorney said Ordoñez entered the country "without inspection" years ago but has deep community ties, including U.S.-citizen children and grandchildren. Within roughly 48 hours he was transferred to a detention facility in Newark, New Jersey.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told CBS 2 that Border Patrol had deported Ordoñez to Mexico in 2000 after he used a false name and claimed to be from Mexico, and that he later returned to the United States. Zhuang said ICE arrests had "skyrocketed" in her district, which includes parts of Sunset Park, Dyker Heights, Bath Beach, Borough Park, and Gravesend, and that most of the people her office sees detained have no criminal record despite official assurances that enforcement targets violent offenders.

Ordoñez's immigration attorney, S. Michael Musa-Obregon, said early-morning arrests of working immigrants without a search or arrest warrant had become common in the neighborhood. Local residents described a climate of fear, with neighbors warning each other over WhatsApp about ICE agents' presence near a subway station where, church members said, agents wait "at 6 o'clock in the morning."

Updates

2026-01-15 — Federal judge paused Ordoñez's transfer and ordered a bond hearing [2]

A New Jersey federal judge ordered immigration officials to pause any further transfer or deportation of Ordoñez and directed that he receive a bond hearing in immigration court within 10 days, noting that Ordoñez had resided in New York "for years," had a fixed address, longstanding ties to the community, and no criminal charges.

Why we recorded this

Due process requires that people be told why they are being arrested and be informed of their rights before losing their liberty. Federal court filings say ICE agents gave a Brooklyn church deacon no explanation for his arrest and did not read him his rights before transferring him out of state within 48 hours, and a federal judge later found he had a fixed address, no criminal charges, and years of community ties. This archive records enforcement action that skips the basic procedural safeguards due process requires, even against someone with no criminal record and deep roots in his community.

Sources

Bensonhurst church leader, neighbors arrested by ICE — Brooklyn Paper investigative accessed August 29, 2026
In Brooklyn, a Community Shows Resolve in the Wake of a Deacon's ICE Arrest — Documented primary accessed August 29, 2026