Governor Andrew Cuomo has penned an open letter to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, demanding the release of a pizza deliveryman.
Pablo Villavicencio was detained at the Fort Hamilton military base after making a delivery on June 1.
ICE officials say Villaviciencio ignored a deportation order after entering the country illegally about 10 years ago.
He later married an American citizen and applied for citizenship.
He is set to appear in court July 24.
In the letter, Cuomo calls the treatment of Villavicencio un-American and a blatant abuse of power, saying, in part, "This human rights abuse is just the latest in a frightening pattern of disgraceful and, in many cases, illegal tactics used by ICE."