A staffer from the office of state Assemblymember Catherine Stefani, D-San Francisco, is being held at federal immigration facility after authorities detained him at a Nevada airport, officials said this week.
“I am respectfully calling for Ho Yin Mo’s release as soon as possible,” Stefani said in a statement Tuesday. “Ho Yin is a selfless public servant and valued, legal employee of the California State Legislature, serving our San Francisco and Bay Area communities.”
Last Thursday, Mo was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Harry Reid International Airport near Las Vegas during a “targeted enforcement operation,” ICE said in an email.
Mo, who ICE said is an “illegal alien” from Hong Kong, has worked with Stefani’s office since 2025 doing outreach to her district’s Chinese American constituents. Before that, he worked as a local Bay Area news reporter and studied at the University of California, Berkeley, according to his LinkedIn profile.
“Ho Yin is a selfless public servant and valued, legal employee of the California State Legislature, serving our San Francisco and Bay Area communities.”
Assemblymember Catherine Stefani
“He brings a unique sense of belonging to so many who watched him as a TV reporter,” Stefani said.
ICE said that Mo lawfully entered the U.S. in January 2020 on a temporary basis, but “illegally overstayed his welcome” by not leaving the country by May of that year.
He is currently being detained at a federal immigration detention center in Pahrump, Nevada.
San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa, who represents a portion of Stefani’s Assembly district in the county’s northern region, also spoke out against Mo’s detainment.
“Ho Yin Mo is a public servant who has been working on behalf of Californians, including residents of San Francisco and San Mateo counties,” Canepa said. “I stand with Assemblymember Catherine Stefani in calling for his release and for due process in resolving his immigration case. Our communities deserve to know that people who serve the public will be treated fairly and with dignity.”
