ICE arrested Bronx high school student Dylan Lopez Contreras in Manhattan courthouse lobby after his scheduled immigration hearing

On May 21, 2025, ICE agents arrested Dylan Josue Lopez Contreras, a 20-year-old Venezuelan student at ELLIS Preparatory Academy in the Bronx, in the lobby of 26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan immediately after he appeared for a scheduled immigration court hearing. During the hearing, federal government lawyers asked the judge to dismiss Dylan's case — a nationwide enforcement tactic in which officials then immediately reopened cases as "expedited removal" proceedings, stripping migrants of existing legal protections and enabling on-the-spot arrest. Agents followed Dylan out of the courtroom and into the courthouse lobby before detaining him.

Dylan had entered the United States in April 2024 through a Biden-era humanitarian program that allowed migrants to make appointments to cross the border and seek asylum, and held a valid work permit and driver's learner permit at the time of his arrest. He attended the hearing without a lawyer, unaware of the consequences of the dismissal. He had no criminal record. His mother, Raiza Contreras, had accompanied him to what they assumed was a routine check-in. "It seems like a dirty game on their part," Raiza told Chalkbeat in Spanish. "When someone appears in front of a judge, it's because they don't have any criminal record, they want to do the right thing."

Dylan was subsequently transferred across multiple states before being held at Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania. His legal team at the New York Legal Assistance Group filed a habeas corpus petition alleging his detention violated his due process rights and sought humanitarian parole due to health concerns, but the petition was denied and an immigration judge denied his asylum claim, though his lawyers appealed. He became the first known New York City public school student detained by ICE during Trump's second term, drawing sustained attention from elected officials including New York's senators and members of the state congressional delegation.

Updates

2026-03-18 — Dylan Lopez Contreras released after nearly ten months in detention [4]

On March 18, 2026, Dylan was released from Moshannon Valley Processing Center after approximately ten months in federal custody. His legal team at the New York Legal Assistance Group said the reason for his release was not yet clear as they reviewed his release documents. The following day, New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani joined Dylan and his family at a public press conference in Manhattan. Hochul called his detention "shameful" and criticized DHS Secretary Kristi Noem by name. Mamdani said the city would not rest until every person "is where they deserve to be." Dylan, speaking in Spanish, thanked advocates, elected officials, and those who had written cards during his detention, and said he remained "sad that there are people still there unjustly."