Senate Democrat Fires Employee For Pretending to Be a Lawyer While Trying to Free Immigrant From ICE
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) has fired a staffer accused by ICE of pretending to be a lawyer representing an undocumented immigrant.
The staffer, Edward York, allegedly tried to free 40-year-old Jose Ismeal Ayuzo Sandoval from ICE custody by misrepresenting himself as an immigration attorney.
Duckworth sent a letter to Todd Lyons, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, on Monday to inform him of her action.
The letter read:
I am writing in response to your November 12, 2025 letter regarding interactions between an employee of my Senate Office and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in the St. Louis ICE Field Office. Upon reviewing the matter, I can confirm that neither I nor my leadership team was aware of authorized or directed what your letter describes as the employee’s conduct.
My office has terminated the employment of said employee, effective November 17, 2025.
Lyons detailed the allegations against York in a letter to Duckworth about the Oct. 29 incident.
“At approximately 1:29 p.m., an individual identified as Edward York, who according to publicly available information, is employed as a Constituent Outreach Coordinator for your Senate office, entered the field office lobby, and in a discussion with a federal officer, claimed to be Mr. Ayuzo’s attorney. Mr. York demanded to speak with his ‘client,’” the letter said, adding:
This staff member allegedly did so to gain access to the detainee and seek his release from custody, and he accomplished it by falsifying an official Department of Homeland Security (DHS) form.
The letter continued to allege that York successfully met with Ayuzo and got him to sign a G-28 form that allows an attorney to represent a client on immigration matters.
“Four days later, a Suarez Law Office in Collinsville, Illinois filed a G-28 electronically that did not have Mr. Ayuzo’s signature, even though Mr. York, who claimed to work for the law firm, had already obtained a signed form,” the letter said, according to Fox News.
ICE did not say whether York would be charged with a crime.
