Another New York City public school student has been detained by federal immigration authorities as part of the Trump administration’s escalation of round-ups and deportations, according to elected and education officials.
The state and local lawmakers shared on social media Friday afternoon that a junior at Grover Cleveland High School in Ridgewood, Queens, was arrested earlier this week by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at an immigration court hearing that Michael Gianaris, the New York State Senate deputy leader, characterized as “routine.”
“It is every parent’s nightmare to be separated from their children and have no idea where they are or what is happening to them. The fact that this is happening in our country’s name is sickening,” Gianaris told the Daily News.
The News could not immediately identify lawyers for the student or at which courthouse the arrest took place.
“This is not justice,” Councilwoman Jennifer Gutiérrez, a Democrat whose district includes Ridgewood, said on X. “This is condoned family separation by the Trump Administration.”
“Apprehending anyone — let alone minors in courthouses, when they are following our laws, our protocols, is unjustifiable. I am calling for his immediate release.”
“His family has not heard from him in days,” Assemblywoman Claire Valdez added on X, “and has no idea where he is being held. I demand that he be released immediately to his family.”
The Queens student is the second known immigrant enrolled in New York City’s public schools to be targeted for deportation during President Trump’s current term.
Last month, ICE agents detained Dylan, a 20-year-old Bronx student from Venezuela, after he attended a routine court hearing in Manhattan — sparking widespread condemnation by Democrats and protests. His last name is being withheld at his family’s request.
On Monday, Mayor Adams, who has mostly reserved judgement on Trump’s deportation agenda, took the unexpected step of filing a friend-of-the-court brief on Dylan’s behalf.
“We are deeply saddened to learn that one of our students was detained by ICE while attending a legal hearing to seek asylum,” Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos said in a statement. “This young person should be returning home from school today, surrounded by family — not facing detention.”
Emphasizing that the arrest did not take place in a school, the chancellor urged families to keep sending children to their classes.
Federal agents have been rounding up immigrants in lower Manhattan for days, focusing on courthouses and a nearby migrant service center on Elk St. The arrests are part of a national effort under the Trump administration to ensnare migrants, including people without criminal records, in deportation proceedings as they appear for various check-ins.
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