Federal immigration authorities have seized a 7-year-old New York City public school student, the youngest-known local school kid to be detained during the second Trump administration.
Dayra, an Ecuadorian student at P.S. 89 The Jose Peralta School of Dreamers in Queens, and her mom were separated from her 19-year-old brother during an immigration check-in on Tuesday at 26 Federal Plaza, according to the family and their advocates. Her last name is being withheld as a minor.
“We were all very scared,” Patricio, Dayra’s mom’s boyfriend who lives with the family, said in Spanish. “Because we knew they were going to arrest them.”
Dayra and her mom, Martha, were shipped off to a detention center in Texas, advocates said. The U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement locator showed Martha as of Friday afternoon at South Texas Family Residential Center, one of the largest immigration facilities in the country. The center was reopened this year after the Biden administration shuttered it. (The locator does not provide information for detainees under 18.)
“She called me yesterday, she told me she was fine. But she is very afraid of returning to Ecuador,” Patricio said of Martha, who fled domestic violence in the country. An immigration judge had previously denied her asylum bid and ordered the family deported, according to court records, but they continued to report to their check-ins as required by law.
Dayra’s brother, Manuel, 19, was being held at 26 Federal Plaza, before being moved to a detention center in Newark, New Jersey, according to the locator. He recently graduated high school on Long Island and was supposed to start college this year, Patricio said.
The Department of Homeland Security, the agency that houses ICE, did not immediately comment.
“We are hearing extremely concerning reports about an immigrant family, including a 7-year-old local public school student and her 19-year-old brother, detained by ICE,” Councilman Shekar Krishnan (D-Queens) said in a statement. “My office is working actively to obtain all the details. We are in contact with the local school, DOE officials, and federal offices to learn more and fight to make sure the family can be reunited.”
“Family separation is horrific, and ICE must stop these cruel tactics.”
In the Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens, P.S. 89 hosts a Spanish dual-language program and is in the process of launching a similar program in Bengali, according to school data and social media. More than half of students are learning English as a new language.
“The abuses of the federal government and neglect from City Hall have created an environment of terror for families in the streets of New York,” said Naveed Hasan, an advocate for the city’s immigrant students. “7-year-old Dayra is among the youngest children taken by ICE, and if she’s not immediately released, our own government will illegally deprive her of her right to learn and thrive with her loving PS 89Q community.”
Dayra and Manuel are the latest in a slew of New York students to be swept up in President Trump’s deportation agenda, including two young men, Dylan and Mouctar, who attend the city’s alternative high schools for students behind on credits. On Thursday, local lawmakers and advocated rallied for their release ahead of the school year, which begins on Sept. 4.
The Patchogue-Medford School District, where advocates say Manuel attended high school, did not return a request for comment Friday. Nicole Brownstein, the press secretary for the city’s public schools, said the agency has helped connect families with their permission to legal support and other resources.
“New York City Public Schools stands with all of our students, and we are committed to supporting every child and family in our system,” she said.
Originally Published: August 15, 2025 at 12:41 PM EDT
