First NYC Public School Student Arrested by ICE Under Trump Released After 10 Months
A public high school student from The Bronx, who was arrested during an immigration court appearance, has been released from federal custody after spending nearly 10 months inside a Pennsylvania detention centre. The arrest of Dylan Lopez Contreras is considered to be the first instance of a New York City public school student being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the Trump administration.
Courthouse Arrests Become New Tactic
This case previewed the Trump administration's controversial new tactic of arresting immigrants inside courthouses as they left their hearings. "Very soon, my son will be back with his siblings and me — it is both a relief and a blessing," his mother Raiza Contreras said in a statement through the New York Legal Assistance Group.
Contreras, who was 20 years old when arrested and turned 21 while in detention, was enrolled at Ellis Preparatory Academy in The Bronx. This institution supports immigrant students considered too old to start at a traditional high school.
Political Response and Advocacy
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani expressed outrage at the situation. "What should have been a time for him to focus on finishing high school instead became 10 long months of isolation, after he was taken into custody at what was supposed to be a routine immigration hearing last May," he stated.
"Throughout this injustice, Dylan has shown remarkable strength, resilience, and courage," Mayor Mamdani continued. "I wish him a smooth and joyful return to his life, his community, and his future here in New York City. He is a New Yorker, and our city is glad to have him home."
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer showed support by inviting Contreras' mother to Trump's State of the Union address. New York Governor Kathy Hochul also intervened, urging White House border czar Tom Homan to release Contreras last year.
Broader Pattern of Student Arrests
Following Contreras' arrest and detention, New York lawmakers, schools, and advocacy groups sounded the alarm over the arrests of several more students, including some children as young as six years old. These incidents joined a wave of arrests inside immigration courthouses and during ICE check-ins, with Manhattan fast becoming the nation's capital for such arrests.
In June, a 19-year-old 11th grader named Derlis Snaider Chusin Toaquiza, who attended Grover Cleveland High School in Queens, was arrested and jailed inside a detention centre in Texas. He was released on bond nearly two months later.
City officials described Toaquiza as being "caught in a trap laid by immigration authorities in a courthouse in Manhattan, where federal, state, and local courthouses cluster within a few blocks." They warned that "these tactics risk driving underground those otherwise inclined to follow the country's immigration laws, undermining the very system that those laws are designed to serve."
Additional Cases and Deportations
That same month, 20-year-old Joselyn Chipantiza-Sisalema was arrested and sent to a Louisiana detention centre. The RiseBoro Community Partnership student was released three weeks later and returned to school in the fall to complete her GED program.
Mamadou Mouctar Diallo, enrolled at Brooklyn Frontiers High School, spent roughly three months in ICE detention after his arrest during a routine court hearing last August. Diallo, originally from Guinea, has since been granted asylum in the U.S. and is in the process of obtaining a green card.
While immigration advocacy groups and state and local lawmakers successfully intervened in some students' cases, several other New York City schoolchildren have been deported in recent months along with their families.
A second-grade student and her mother, who were seeking asylum in the U.S., were deported to Ecuador after an ICE check-in appointment in lower Manhattan last year. The girl attended P.S. 89 elementary school in Queens, and her detention appeared to be the first known ICE arrest of a New Yorker under the age of 18 since Trump returned to office.
In a letter to ICE pleading for the girl's release, P.S. 89's principal described her as "a kind, respectful, and dedicated young lady" whose "unexpected removal will cause significant disruption to her learning and will likely have a deep emotional impact on her classmates and our entire school community."
Ongoing Concerns and Calls for Action
Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigration Coalition, emphasized that while Contreras' release is positive, significant concerns remain. "Dylan is finally being reunited with his family," he acknowledged. "But while this is a step towards justice, Dylan will never get back the time he unjustly spent behind bars."
Awawdeh added a call to action: "Elected officials in New York must take action to make sure that we do not remain complicit in other New Yorkers being torn from their families."
Contreras entered the United States after fleeing Venezuela in 2024 with his family. He was granted Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, though the Department of Homeland Security claims he illegally entered the U.S., highlighting the complex legal landscape surrounding these cases.
