Queens, NY – New York State Assembly Member Steven Raga, who represents Woodside’s Little Manila, and Jersey City Councilman-at-Large Rolando R. Lavarro Jr. today called for the immediate release of Raul Raagas, a 63-year-old Jersey City resident, father of two, and longtime member of New Jersey’s Filipino American community who has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since July 24.

Raagas, known to family and friends as “Kuya Raul,” a Filipino honorific for a male elder, was arrested while driving to work in New Jersey and subsequently transferred to ICE custody. He was later moved to the CoreCivic Elizabeth Detention Center in Newark, where he remains detained.

“I call on ICE to immediately release Raul Raagas and return him to his family and community,” said Assemblymember Raga. “It is unconscionable that Raul—a 63-year-old father of two and cherished member of his community for decades—was taken into ICE custody after being stopped for a minor traffic infraction. He should be home with his family, not in ICE detention, where 51 of our neighbors have died since the beginning of the Trump administration. I will never stop standing with fellow elected officials like Councilman Lavarro and community advocates like Tanggol Migrante Northeast in the fight for immigrant justice and due process. Raul deserves dignity, fair ftreatment, and the opportunity to be with his family while his case proceeds. I demand that ICE respect his constitutional and legal rights and end his detention immediately.”

“Raul Raagas is my constituent and my kababayan – a member of my community – a devoted father and husband who has spent more than three decades building his life in this country and this city, only to be torn from his family and held in a detention cell,” said Jersey City Councilman-at-Large Rolando R. Lavarro Jr. “I’ve spoken with his wife, called on the court to grant him bond, and reached out to colleagues at every level of government to stand with him. I’m grateful to stand alongside Assembly Member Raga and the community advocates fighting for Raul’s freedom. His case is not isolated: hardworking, deeply rooted families across our state and country are being torn apart in the same way, and it is wrong. Raul belongs home with his family, and I demand an end to his detention and an immigration system rooted in fairness, fundamental rights, and basic human dignity.”

Assemblymember Raga has championed justice and protections for immigrant New Yorkers in the State Assembly. He co-sponsored the New York for All Act, legislation that would limit state and local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, and was among a group of elected officials arrested in peaceful civil disobedience at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan while attempting to conduct oversight of an ICE detention facility.

A native of Cebu City, Philippines, Raul Raagas first came to the United States in 1993 and has lived in New Jersey for more than three decades. He settled in Jersey City in the late 1990s, where he met his wife, Janet. He went on to build a life and raise his family in the city, working for years in sanitation services. Raagas and his wife have two children and are longtime members of Jersey City’s Filipino community.

On July 26, family members and community advocates from Tanggol Migrante Northeast visited the Philippine Consulate in New York to request diplomatic intervention, including a wellness check, assistance in preventing his transfer out of state, and the release of Assistance to Nationals funds.

His detention – which has left his family without its primary provider – has galvanized community organizations, elected officials, and advocates to call for his release.