Sign up for Chalkbeat New York’s free daily newsletter to get essential news about NYC’s public schools delivered to your inbox.
In his first public statement since being detained by immigration authorities last month, Bronx high schooler Dylan Lopez Contreras expressed anger over his surprise arrest and gratitude for the outpouring of support he’s received.
“It’s frustrating to be here knowing that I didn’t do anything wrong,” Dylan said in Spanish, according to a translation provided by his attorneys at the New York Legal Assistance Group, or NYLAG. “To people who are speaking out and taking action to support me: Thank you so much, I really didn’t expect all of the support and it fills me with hope.
“All I want is to go home so I can continue studying, to see the people who I love, and to be free,” he added.
Dylan directed a special message to his two elementary school-age siblings, with whom he shares a Bronx apartment along with their mother, Raiza.
“I will be out soon,” he said. “I can’t wait to hug you tightly and watch movies together again.”
Dylan’s arrest was a high-profile early example of an aggressive new immigration enforcement tactic under President Donald Trump in which officers arrest migrants after they appear for routine immigration court dates and thrust them into fast-track deportation proceedings. Dylan, a 20-year old Venezuelan student at ELLIS Prep, is the first known New York City public school student detained by immigration officials during Trump’s second term.
Last week, another city public school student — an 11th grader at Grover Cleveland High School in Queens, according to local lawmakers — was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. The student, whose name has not been released, is currently being held in Texas, according to a spokesperson for NYLAG, which is also representing him.
Dylan had permission to live and work here through a humanitarian program under former President Joe Biden while he went through the asylum application process. He was arrested May 21 after attending a hearing in Manhattan at which government lawyers asked the judge to dismiss Dylan’s immigration case, leaving him vulnerable to immediate arrest.
“When I realized what was happening, I felt very confused and irritated,” Dylan said, adding he didn’t understand the consequences of the dismissal. He has since been shuttled across multiple states and is currently being held in Pennsylvania, where his lawyers and family say he is receiving inadequate medical treatment for severe stomach issues that doctors suspect may stem from cancer or Crohn’s disease.
“They treat us like we are criminals here and the guards yell at us,” Dylan said.
Earlier this month, Dylan’s lawyers filed a “habeas corpus” petition alleging Dylan’s detention violates his due process rights. Separately, the lawyers urged ICE to release Dylan under “humanitarian parole,” citing a letter from a doctor arguing that leaving Dylan in detention could lead to “significant morbidity and possibly death.”
A spokesperson for New York Sen. Kristin Gillibrand said she supports the request and reached out on Dylan’s behalf. Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres sent a letter Wednesday urging ICE to “give fair and full consideration to the request for parole as soon as possible.”
In a legal filing earlier this week, a lawyer for the U.S. government defended Dylan’s detention, arguing he’s eligible for expedited removal and that there’s no evidence his detention center is unable to treat his medical condition.
Dylan’s arrest has sparked widespread protests among city elected officials and advocates, and the city’s law department under Mayor Eric Adams filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting Dylan’s release and criticizing ICE’s enforcement tactics.
In the wake of his arrest, Dylan’s school, ELLIS Prep, which caters to older, newly arrived immigrant students, rallied around him and sent hundreds of handwritten letters of support to his detention center. At first, Dylan told his mother ICE wouldn’t deliver the letters.
Dylan said this week that ICE officials have now delivered three letters. Still, they lifted his spirits.
“I was feeling depressed here, but it gave me a lot of hope to see that you all want the best for me,” he said. “With your support I haven’t felt so alone.”
He included advice for his classmates, some of whom are navigating their own immigration cases: “take care of yourself and be safe with everything that’s happening. If you have court, look for a lawyer and request that your hearing is virtual.”
Michael Elsen-Rooney is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Michael at melsen-rooney@chalkbeat.org
