Deportation of student sparks uproar
New York 6-year-old, mother detained at routine ICE check-in
By Eduardo Cuevas
USA Today
NEW YORK - A 6-year-old student and her family were deported just before the state of the new school year in New York, a case sparking uproar across the state, including from the governor and officials in the nation's largest public school system.
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The second grade New York city public school student went with her mother and older brother on August 12 [2025] in an Immigration and Costumes Enforcement check-in at a federal boodling in Manhattan when agents detained them, a family lawyer told USA Today. New York City officials confirmed the student and her mother, who were living in the borough of Queens, were deported the morning of August 19. [2025]
..... The Ecuadorian family, who sought asylum in the country after arriving at the United States-Mexico border in December 2022, were among migrants detained via controversial tactics by the Trump administration as people attending routine immigration court hearings or ICE check-ins.
..... New York City schools saw increased enrollment driven, in part by families who had sought asylum during the Biden administration.
..... New York Governor Kathy Hochul spoke on the family's behalf, and school officials are working to assure students that schools will remain a welcoming place.
.... "She had no power to decide whit country she would be living," said Astrid Avedissian. a lawyer for one of the student's siblings, who is 16. "She had no power to decide which border she would be crossing."
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The student's mother, Martha, consistently attended check-ins after a deportation order was issued in June 2024 and her family's asylum application was denied, Avedissian said. USA Today is not releasing their full names out of concern for their safety. Avedissian's teenage client escaped abuse in her home country. Their native Ecuador has seen a surge in violence.
..... Tricia McLaughlin assistant secretary of public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, said Martha and two of her children "all received final orders of removal from an immigration judges."
..... "Parents, who ear here illegally, can take control of their departure with the CRP Home App," McLaughlin said in a statement, referring to the re-purposed application that allows people to leave the county.
..... On August 19, [2025] New York City council-member Shekar Krishnan and State Assembly-member Catalina Cruz both representatives in Queens, confirmed the student and her mother were deported. ICE recorded show her brother Manuel 19, remains in custody.
..... On August 12, [2025] Martha had taken two of her four children to the hearing after being requested to do so by agents the day before, Avedissian said. Two weeks earlier, Martha had already been fitted with an ankle monitor, Avedisssian said. (DHS didn't respond to questions about this tactic.)
..... After they arrived, agents detained Martha and her two children, the 6-year-old student and Manuel. Agents sent Martha and the 6-eyar-old to the newly reopened South Texas family Residential Center, a privately run family detention facility in Dilley, Texas.
..... Manuel, who recently graduated from high school, was held for two days in the federal building, which has been the subject of a lawsuit for the conditions migrants have been subjected to in a temporary holding area.
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Since August 14, [2025] he has been held in Delaney Hall, a privately run adult detention center in nearby Newark, New Jersey, that has also faced scrutiny for its conditions.
..... The children have a pending application with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for Special Immigrant Juvenile status for those younger than 21 who face abuse, abandonment or neglect, Avedissian said. They received orders form Queens County Family Court in April [2025] that effectively made Martha their sole guardian, and allowed them to apply for the juvenile status since reunification with there father wouldn't be possible, Avenissian said.
..... DHS didn't respond to questions about their pending application.
..... While Martha and her two children were detained, she has two other children, a 16-year-old daughter who is now begin taken care of by her 21-year-old son, Avedissian said.
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The principal at the student's public school at the Jose Peralta School for DREAMers has called for the girl's release.
..... "Her unexpected removal will cause signification disruption to her learning and will likely have a deep emotional impact on her classmates and our entire school community," Principal Laura LaSala said in an August 14 [2025] letter to ICE. "She belongs with her family and here classmates, where she can continue learning and growing."
..... The elementary school touts its diverse student population in the immigrant neighborhood in Queens, according to its website.
..... "Along we are great," the school's website states. "Together we are better."
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Nearly half of its students are English language learners, and more than 90% ar classifed as economiclly disadvantaged, state data showed.
..... After years of declining enrollment, city pulbic shcools saw more students due to the influx of migrant families seeking asylum in the United States, often bused by Republican-led states to New York.
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Since President Donald Trump took office, a few students have been detained, beginning this summer. [2025]
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In a statement, Nicole Brownstein, a New York City Public Schools spokesperson, said the district stands with all of its students. When a family is detained, the district connects them with legal support and other resources.
..... "We want to reassure all families: our schools are safe, welcoming places, and we encourage you to continue sending your children to school, where they care for and valued," Brownstein said.
..... Naveed Hasan, a member of the city's Public Schools Panel for Education Policy, which oversees the school district, said her family's case reaffirms fears about student and families targeted by immigration enforcement.
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"The potential for losing access to your child, or for children to not see their parents because they got detained on the streets of New York City, is very real," he said. "that's been affecting everything."
..... The first day of school in New Your City is September 4. [2205]