Leader Schumer Statement On Dylan Contreras Being Released By ICE

Washington D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) today released the following statement on Dylan Lopez Contreras, the first NYC public school student detained in Trump’s ICE mass-detention and deportation campaign, being released by ICE and being on his way to reuniting with his family. Schumer brought Raiza Contreras, Dylan’s mother, as his personal guest to President Trump’s State of the Union last month to elevate his case and fight for his release:

"Thank God Dylan Contreras is coming home. He will soon be back in New York reunited with his mother Raiza, his family, and the Bronx community that loves him. I sat with Raiza as she cried in my office the night of the State of the Union and told her I would do everything in my power to help bring her son home, and I am thrilled they will soon be together once again,” said Leader Schumer. “Dylan did everything right, he entered legally, worked to support his family and enrolled in school, and he should have never been detained like this. I am glad the administration has heeded my calls and righted this wrong, but there are many more families like Dylan’s that have been torn apart because of ICE. The chaos experienced by so many communities and families at the hands of ICE must end.”

Dylan entered the United States legally, granted Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, and was permitted to remain in the country while awaiting his hearing. He was enrolled in high school at Ellis Preparatory Academy in the Bronx and obtained work authorization to help support mother care for his two younger siblings. Despite this, he was still targeted and detained by ICE after attending a mandatory court hearing. At the hearing, ICE officers followed Contreras out of the courtroom and arrested him in the lobby. Schumer worked relentlessly alongside advocates across New York and stood with Raiza to help elevate her son’s case at the State of the Union to demand his release, and now Dylan is on his way home to New York City to be reunited with his family and community that loves him.

Schumer has been leading efforts in Congress to rein in ICE and impose reforms. He and his colleagues have continued to call for clear guardrails, including prohibiting enforcement at sensitive locations like schools and courts, requiring officers to display identification, banning the use of masks during enforcement, preventing racial profiling, mandating body-worn cameras, ensuring access to counsel in detention facilities, and strengthening oversight and coordination with state and local authorities.

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