Another public high school student in New York City has been arrested by the US immigration and customs control service (ICE), allegedly for being illegally in the country.
The teenager, whose name has not been revealed, attends the Grover Cleveland High School school in Ridgewood, Gothamist reported. According to state representatives, he was arrested last week while attending an appointment in the immigration court with his family.
It is not clear where it was arrested, but the NYC Department of Education confirmed that it did not happen within the school.
State Senator Michael Gianaris, who represents Queens parts, said the school personnel informed him about the case on June 6.
“Stop minors in court and separate them from their families is unacceptable, and I join school in asking for their release,” Gianaris wrote in X, formerly Twitter.
Assemblyman Claire Valdez, who represents Ridgewood, said the student’s parents have not had contact with their child since he was arrested by the authorities.
“His family has not known him in days and has no idea where they are retaining it,” he said. “I demand that he is immediately released with his family.”
Mayor Eric Adams said he is investigating the case.
“We are aware and worried about an incident that involves a public school student who was allegedly arrested after attending an immigration audience, and we are collecting more information,” said a spokesman for the Mayor’s Office to our sister publication, Amnewyork. “As Mayor Adams has said repeatedly, our city is less safe when people are afraid to use public resources, such as attending their judicial hearings, and are forced to hide.”
The Chancellor of the Public School System, Melissa Avilés-Ramos, said that both she and her team felt “dismayed” upon learning about the student’s arrest and emphasized that it should not be stopped.
“Our commitment to all students, including our new New Yorkers, is still firm,” he said. “Our policies have not changed. Schools are and will continue to be safe and welcoming spaces for each child. This incident did not occur within a school, and we exhort families to continue sending their children to school, which is where they must be.”
Amnewyork contacted the ICE press office to know the state of the student’s arrest and his whereabouts, and is waiting for an answer.
The incident occurs shortly after the case of Dylan López Contreras, a 20 -year -old public high school student, originally from Venezuela, who was arrested by federal agents while attending a routine immigration audience on May 21.
López Contreras is currently retained in a migratory processing center in Pennsylvania, according to the ACLU of that state, while local government officials and defenders demand their release.
Meanwhile, Todd Lyons, interim director of ICE, published a video in which he accuses Congressman Hakeem Jeffries and other politicians of “feeding outrage” for ICE’s actions, including arrests and protests that occurred in Los Angeles last weekend.
“The reality is that my officers are protecting the same people who are threatening their safety,” he said. “This is what I have to tell the mayor of Boston, Michelle Wu, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries and any other who is feeding the indignation for what ICE does: they are hurting real people, with real families, with their ridiculous rhetoric and inflammatory comments. It is time to remember it.”
