California lawmaker’s aide detained by immigration officials at Las Vegas airport

An aide to a California state lawmaker was detained last week by federal immigration officers at Harry Reid International Airport, according to multiple officials.

Ho Yin Mo, of Hong Kong, was taken into custody on Sept. 17 during a targeted enforcement operation at the Las Vegas airport, an unnamed Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a Wednesday statement. Mo is being detained at the Nevada Southern Detention Center in Pahrump, a representative for the facility said Wednesday.

Mo entered the U.S. lawfully in January 2020 on a temporary basis but “overstayed his welcome” by failing to leave the country by May of that year, according to the DHS statement.

Mo is a field representative for Assemblymember Catherine Stefani, a Democrat whose district includes parts of San Francisco and San Mateo counties, the lawmaker said in a Tuesday Facebook post calling for Mo’s release.

Stefani described Mo as a “selfless public servant,” who helped people access affordable health care coverage, child care and nutrition support. Mo’s LinkedIn profile states he previously worked as a reporter for KTSF-TV, a Bay Area-based Chinese television station in San Francisco, and as a field organizer for two San Francisco campaigns.

“When Ho Yin and I meet our Chinese-American constituents, he brings a unique sense of belonging to so many who watched him as a TV reporter,” Stefani said in the post. “Our whole community eagerly awaits Ho Yin’s return to his home and his job where he is loved and adored.”

Stefani said Mo was a legal employee of the California State Legislature, but, according to the DHS statement, “work authorization or a pending application do NOT confer legal status in the United States.”

Additional information about Mo’s detention was not immediately available. The DHS statement added that the Trump administration is working so that unauthorized migrants “can no longer fly unless it is out of our country to self-deport.”