Sen. Tammy Duckworth said her office has fired a staffer following a Department of Homeland Security allegation that he misrepresented himself as an attorney while seeking the release of a man in ICE custody. In a Nov. 17 letter to acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, Duckworth said she neither knew of nor authorized the conduct.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) has terminated a staff member after federal officials alleged he posed as an attorney to access and seek the release of a man held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to a letter the senator sent to the agency. A copy of Duckworth’s Nov. 17, 2025 response letter, shared publicly, says the staffer’s employment ended that day and that neither she nor her leadership team was aware of or authorized the actions described by DHS. (dailywire.com)
The allegations surfaced in a Nov. 12 letter from acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, which said the staffer, identified as Edward York, entered the St. Louis ICE field office on Oct. 29 and claimed to be the attorney for detainee Jose Ismael Ayuzo Sandoval. Lyons wrote that York sought the man’s release and falsified an official DHS form. Multiple outlets reviewed or reported on the letter’s contents. (foxnews.com)
DHS and ICE officials have said Ayuzo Sandoval was arrested in Staunton, Illinois, on Oct. 29 and transferred to ICE St. Louis for processing. The DHS account also states he had been removed from the United States four times, had a prior DUI on his record, and was under a final removal order dating to 2003. DHS’s description in the letter listed him as 40 years old, though some local reports put his age at 41. (newsweek.com)
Lyons’ letter further alleges York met with Ayuzo Sandoval and obtained his signature on a Form G‑28, which authorizes legal representation in immigration matters. Four days later, a Collinsville, Illinois, law office electronically filed a G‑28 that lacked the detainee’s signature, and ICE staff could not verify that York was a licensed attorney, according to the letter. (foxnews.com)
Duckworth’s Nov. 17 response letter to ICE said: “Neither I nor my leadership team was aware of, authorized or directed what your letter described as the employee’s conduct,” and that her office “terminated the employment of said employee, effective November 17, 2025,” according to the copy circulated publicly. Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin posted an image of the letter; Daily Wire also reported the termination and quoted from the document. (dailywire.com)
DHS also publicized the allegation on Nov. 12 via a social media post summarizing the claim that a Duckworth staff member falsely presented himself as an attorney to seek a detainee’s release by falsifying a DHS form. Newsweek and other outlets reported on DHS’s public statement and the ICE letter. (newsweek.com)
Local outlets in the St. Louis region and central Illinois have covered Ayuzo Sandoval’s detention and community reaction. The Alton Telegraph and other local publications reported he is a longtime Staunton resident and restaurant owner; they also noted the dispute over whether his 2008 DUI case resulted in a conviction or a dismissal after supervision. Those details remain ancillary to the DHS allegation about the staffer’s conduct. (thetelegraph.com)
What’s next: Lyons requested answers from Duckworth’s office by Nov. 17 regarding York’s employment and whether others in the office knew of or directed his actions. Duckworth’s letter constitutes a formal reply on that date; any subsequent DHS or ICE findings were not immediately available. (foxnews.com)
