Sign up for Chalkbeat New York’s free daily newsletter to get essential news about NYC’s public schools delivered to your inbox.
U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres demanded answers Wednesday from the Department of Homeland Security about the arrest of a 20-year-old New York City public school student by immigration officials last week, according to a copy of his letter shared with Chalkbeat.
Dylan, whose full name is being withheld at the request of his family, fled Venezuela and entered the country legally last year under a Biden-era entry program while requesting asylum. He was living in the Bronx with his mom and two younger siblings, in Torres’ congressional district, when he was detained last week by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, after attending a routine court hearing, Chalkbeat first reported Monday.
Dylan’s arrest was part of an ongoing nationwide immigration enforcement blitz where government lawyers move to dismiss immigration cases, which allows ICE agents to arrest migrants on the spot in courthouses and place them in an “expedited removal” process that affords fewer legal protections, according to lawyers and numerous news reports.
His case has sparked outrage among many local elected officials, some of whom are planning to rally alongside advocates outside the city Education Department’s Manhattan headquarters on Thursday for his release. Mayor Eric Adams has been notably muted, maintaining that federal immigration actions are not his responsibility and declining to commit to push for Dylan’s release.
Torres, a Bronx democrat, is the first federal elected official to publicly intervene on Dylan’s behalf.
In his Wednesday letter to ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Torres expressed “deep concern” about Dylan’s arrest, saying it “has left his school, his community, and even me — his elected Congressional representative — shocked and searching for answers.”
Torres asked immigration officials to explain why Dylan was detained and how his removal “serve[s] the public interest or promote[s] public safety.” He also sought “confirmation that Dylan’s full legal rights are being upheld,” including “access to counsel, medical care, and the opportunity to contest his removal.”
Federal officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Torres’ letter. A DHS official previously said regarding Dylan’s case that former President Joseph Biden erred in allowing migrants like Dylan to enter the country and “ICE is now following the law and placing these illegal aliens in expedited removal, as they always should have been.”
Detainees under expedited removal face interviews with asylum officers to decide whether they face “credible fear” of returning to their home country — though Dylan’s lawyers noted he had already applied for asylum before his case was dismissed and will likely not have access to representation when he’s interviewed in detention.
Torres said the “basis for his detention hinges on a disturbing trend of deporting those without criminal records and without any evidence of criminal conduct.”
Dylan has “demonstrated extraordinary resilience and responsibility” since arriving in the U.S., Torres wrote, noting that he enrolled full time in public school, got a job, and helped his family move out of a homeless shelter. “He is, by every standard, contributing to his community and making good on the promise of the American dream.”
Dylan has been shuttled between four different states in the days since he was arrested on May 21, according to his mom Raiza and lawyers from the New York Legal Assistance Group, or NYLAG. (Chalkbeat is also withholding Raiza’s last name at her request.) Dylan’s attorneys were first able to make contact with him Wednesday morning — a week after his arrest — and said he was in a detention facility in Pennsylvania.
He suffers from severe stomach issues and said he had not received medical care in detention and had spent most of his time with his hands and feet cuffed, Raiza previously told Chalkbeat.
Torres argued that Dylan’s arrest at a legally mandated court hearing will have a “deeply chilling effect on immigrant communities in my district,” discouraging families from attending court dates and school.
“Dylan’s case sends a message to the people of New York that for the Trump administration, instilling fear in the public is more important than following the law,” the letter continued. “I strongly urge you to review Dylan’s case with fairness, compassion, and common sense. Immigration enforcement should be rooted in public safety, not in punishing young people who are working hard, playing by the rules, and striving to build better lives.”
Read the full letter here:
Michael Elsen-Rooney is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Michael at melsen-rooney@chalkbeat.org
