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After more than two hours of heated criticism from the public, the Detroit school board reversed course and issued a statement condemning the detention of a district high school student by federal immigration officials.
In its statement, the board demanded that Maykol Bogoya-Duarte, an 18-year-old junior at Western International High School, be released and allowed to complete high school in Detroit.
Maykol was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, last month after a traffic stop and has not been released. On Tuesday night, the teen was in a Louisiana jail being prepared for “imminent removal,” according to his attorney.
Immigration advocates had been urging the Detroit Public Schools Community District board to issue a statement condemning the arrest, but at the beginning of the meeting, several members said the board has previously adopted a policy that identifies DPSCD as a sanctuary district that doesn’t welcome ICE on school grounds.
Sherry Gay Dagnogo, a board member, said that while the board stands with Western and the Southwest Detroit community, “We are cautious in not bringing unnecessary attention that will prevent us moving smoothly in having this issue addressed.”
That wasn’t enough for many of the people who spoke before the board during Tuesday’s meeting, with some suggesting the board is afraid that speaking out will affect the district’s federal funding. One urged a stronger public statement, saying, “It has never worked to cower in the face of fascism.”
“What we want to see is for this district, for the board, to stand up in the same ways that we’ve seen board members stand up in New York and Massachusetts, in places where we’ve seen other students detained,” said another commenter, Lindsey Matson, the deputy director of 482Forward, a Detroit-based nonprofit focused on education.
By 9:45 p.m., board members indicated they would issue a statement.
“We heard you. We agree with you. But we’ve got to get to work,” Board President Corletta Vaughn said before the board retreated into a closed session in part to write the statement.
They emerged with this:
“The Detroit Public Schools Community District Board of Education stands firmly with our community in demanding the immediate stay of deportation for our student, Maykol Bogoya-Duarte. Maykol is part of our DPSCD family, and we are heartbroken by the fear and disruption this situation has caused his loved ones, classmates, and school community. We call for the immediate release of Maykol and request a formal stay of his deportation. We want him to complete his coursework and graduate with his high school diploma—just as he has worked hard to do. We will also continue to keep in touch with the family and keep the school community updated.”
Those who remained in the auditorium cheered after Vaughn read the statement.
Earlier during the meeting, Maykol’s mother sat in the audience and wept as the latest update on his whereabouts came that evening. She didn’t speak, but she listened through an interpreter as dozens of people hammered school officials to make a statement.
Teachers, classmates, politicians show support
Multiple Western International teachers told the board the school community is rattled by his arrest.
Maykol’s teachers who spoke at the meeting said he was a good, hard-working student who wanted to earn his diploma. He made a mistake driving to the field trip, they said, but his punishment should not be imprisonment and deportation.
A student named Abby, who asked to use only her first name because of immigration concerns, told Chalkbeat, “we feel his loss in the school.”
On her first day at Western International, she didn’t know where her classes were, and Maykol led her to them.
He was respectful and gentlemanly, she said, and they soon became friends.
Before the board decided to issue a statement, the teen’s attorney said a show of support from his school would greatly help his immigration case.
Maykol, who had been issued a final removal order by an immigration judge in 2024, was going through the legal process to obtain the documents to return to Colombia with his mother. He hoped to earn his high school diploma first and needed 3.5 credits, according to his lawyer, Ruby Robinson, senior managing attorney with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center.
Immigration advocates urged district officials and Michigan lawmakers, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, to condemn Maykol’s arrest and call for his release so he can finish high school. By late Tuesday, they had gathered more than 1,400 signatures on a petition.
U.S. House Rep. Shri Thanedar responded on social media Monday, saying “Maykol should be “released immediately and allowed to get his diploma.”
State Sens. Stephanie Chang, Mary Cavanagh, Sylvia Santana, and Rosemary Bayer released a joint statement on the teen’s arrest Tuesday evening. They called for a stay of deportation for Maykol.
“While awaiting his court hearings, Maykol should be able to live his 18-year-old life in the community,” the statement reads.
Maykol is a ‘very good student,’ his teacher says
On the day of his arrest, Maykol called Abby. Police officers pulled him over on May 20 for allegedly tailgating another car. He had driven with classmates who were also newcomers to try to join a school field trip at Lake Erie Metropark, about 25 miles from Detroit. District officials have said none of the students in the car had permission to attend the trip.
Abby, who was on the trip, told her teachers Maykol needed help.
One of his teachers who was on the field trip, Kristen Schoettle, said she got a ride from staff at the park to the scene of the traffic stop to try to intervene.
Maykol was not licensed to drive and had only a City of Detroit identification card, according to his attorney. The Rockwood police officers who pulled him over couldn’t speak Spanish and had trouble communicating with him, according to Robinson.
Because of the communication barrier, the officers called Customs and Border Protection, the attorney said.
Maykol was then detained and sent to Chippewa County Correctional Facility around 350 miles north of his home in Detroit, Robinson said, adding that the other students were not arrested.
On Monday, Maykol was moved to the Calhoun County Correctional Center in Battle Creek, Robinson said.
On Tuesday, Robinson said Maykol was sent to the Pine Prairie Correctional Facility in Louisiana and was being prepared to be sent out of the country.
Schoettle said she helped connect Maykol to an immigration attorney the day of his arrest.
Superintendent Nikolai Vitti told Chalkbeat that district police tried to advocate for Maykol but were limited in what they could do because he was off campus at the time of his arrest.
Schoettle told Chalkbeat it’s important to Maykol to earn his high school diploma. If he attends summer school, he might be able to graduate by the end of the calendar year, she said.
“He was a very good student,” said the teacher. “He asks a lot of questions and puts himself in situations that allow him to be a better learner.”
A lot of the teen’s friends graduated this year, said Schoettle. He was proud of them and wanted to achieve the same for himself.
Maykol’s detention prevented him from celebrating the end of his junior year and the obstacles he overcame. Even though he often worked late night shifts as a hotel doorman, Maykol came to school ready to learn, said Schoettle.
Abby said the arrest made her “really angry.”
“There’s a great sadness knowing he’s not here,” she said.
Hannah Dellinger covers K-12 education and state education policy for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at hdellinger@chalkbeat.org.
Lori Higgins is the Detroit bureau chief. You can reach her at lhiggins@chalkbeat.org.
