First NYC public school student arrested by Trump’s ICE is released after 10 months in detention
A public high school student from The Bronx who was arrested during an immigration court appearance has been released from federal custody after nearly 10 months inside a Pennsylvania detention center.
The arrest of Dylan Lopez Contreras, considered to be the first New York City public school student detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, previewed the Trump administration’s 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 he was arrested and turned 21 while in detention — was enrolled at Ellis Preparatory Academy in The Bronx, which supports immigrant students considered too old to start at a traditional high school.
“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,” said New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
“Throughout this injustice, Dylan has shown remarkable strength, resilience, and courage,” he said in a statement. “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 invited his mother to Trump’s State of the Union address.
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.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul urged White House border czar Tom Homan to release Contreras last year.
“Dylan is finally being reunited with his family,” she said on Wednesday.
“But while this is a step towards justice, Dylan will never get back the time he unjustly spent behind bars,” said Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigration Coalition.
“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,” he added.
After his 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 6 years old.
They joined a wave of arrests inside immigration courthouses and during ICE check-ins, with Manhattan fast becoming the nation’s capital for such arrests.
