Dylan, the 20-year-old Bronx public school student arrested by federal immigration authorities sued the Trump administration late Thursday night over his ongoing detention in Pennsylvania.
The “habeas corpus” petition asked a western Pennsylvania federal judge to find Dylan’s arrest was unconstitutional and violated his due process rights — and order his immediate release.
“As long as he remains detained, his health is at continued, serious risk; his ability to [seek a green card] is jeopardized; and he will fall behind on his schoolwork,” read the suit.
The complaint, which was first reported by Chalkbeat, names Todd Lyons, the acting director of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and Pennsylvania-based immigration authorities as defendants.
The Daily News has withheld Dylan’s last name at the request of his family.
Dylan, who fled persecution in Venezuela, is currently being held at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County, Penn. He has no criminal history and entered the country legally with humanitarian parole under President Biden.
He and his mother appeared on May 21 without a lawyer for a routine court hearing, where the federal government asked a Manhattan immigration judge to dismiss his case. Late last week, his newly retained lawyers at the New York Legal Assistance Group filed a motion to reconsider the dismissal.
On their way out of the courthouse, two plainclothes ICE officers followed them into an elevator, handcuffed Dylan and threatened to take in his mother if she tried to record his arrest on her cellphone, according to court documents.
His lawyers allege the dismissal was part of a new “coordinated practice” to transfer Dylan and others out of standard proceedings into a process known as “expedited removal,” which offers fewer protections. They say the student was selected at “random.”
Removal proceedings are overseen by immigration judges, who are part of the U.S. Department of Justice. Through the process, people can gather evidence and present witnesses, and appeal deportation orders up to the Board of Immigration Appeals and the Circuit Courts of Appeals.
By contrast, the expedited removal process — which has been greatly expanded during the Trump administration — is overseen by DHS. That means Dylan and other immigrants in his position have no opportunity to bring their case before a judge or appeal their decision, the lawyers said.
DHS earlier this week condemned a Biden-era asylum process that allowed immigrants like Dylan to enter the country with a notice to appear before a judge. The agency claimed President Trump has reverted back to following the law and that the student and others in his position should have faced expedited removal from the beginning.
“If individuals have a valid credible-fear claim, they will continue in immigration proceedings,” officials said in a statement, “but if no valid claim is found, aliens will be subject to a swift deportation.”
Kerry Burke/New York Daily News
Protesters in Manhattan on Thursday demand the release of Dylan, a 20-year-old high school student detained by ICE last week. (Kerry Burke/New York Daily News)
Dylan’s interview with DHS over his fear claim was Thursday morning. If decided in his favor, his case would revert back to the regular deportation process, according to the suit — but he would remain in detention “far from loved ones and counsel.” His claim remained pending as of the petition’s filing.
His lawyers claim he did not meet the requirements for an expedited removal due to the length of time he’s been in the United States and that he was legally paroled into the country when he entered.
“The government has not justified why it specifically targeted, arrested, and detained Dylan, a high school student without a criminal record and abiding by all immigration laws and procedures,” read the complaint.
And the harms of continuing to detain Dylan may be irreparable, the habeas petition argued.
Dylan has a chronic illness related to his stomach, according to his lawyers, which his doctors are still trying to diagnose and treat. The process has required various medical tests to determine whether his symptoms are indicators of cancer or Crohn’s disease, and on Tuesday, he got results back that require an in-person appointment as soon as possible.
Before he was arrested, Dylan was also in the middle of a process to obtain what’s known as Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJS) status based on the death of his father, which would give him a pathway to a green card. He had a hearing scheduled in that process for Friday, which his lawyers expected to miss. Dylan turns 21 later this year and would no longer be eligible for that process.
While the case plays out, Dylan’s lawyers requested that he remain in Pennsylvania.
Since he was taken into custody, Dylan has been moved between facilities in Pennsylvania, Texas, Louisiana and New Jersey. His lawyers accused the federal government of misrepresenting Dylan’s whereabouts and said they were unable to speak with Dylan until Wednesday morning — a week after his arrest.
In the year and change he was in New York, Dylan enrolled in ELLIS Prep, a program for English learners overaged for traditional high school.
Dylan was granted work authorization and took care of his two younger siblings. While his mom worked long hours, he picked the kids up from school. And with the help of his supplemental income as a part-time delivery driver, they were able to move their family out of a homeless shelter — and into their own apartment.
New York politicians and immigration advocates have condemned Dylan’s detention, including a protest on the steps of the public school system’s headquarters on Thursday, which drew hundreds of supporters and even the city schools chancellor.
After distancing himself earlier this week from Dylan’s arrest, Mayor Adams under pressure from local lawmakers on Friday released a statement that he was “sad to learn of this incident,” especially since Dylan was following a legal process.
“Keeping New Yorkers safe has always been Mayor Adams’ top priority,” said his spokesman Zachary Nosanchuk, “and he has been clear that our city is less safe when people are afraid to use public resources — like sending their children to school … or partaking in legal proceedings at court.”
