City Hall backs Bronx student detained by ICE while pursuing dream of being mechanic | amNewYork

"Joel's lawyers say he did exactly what the government required by appearing with counsel for a scheduled ICE check-in at 26 Federal Plaza on Oct. 23. Instead of being sent back to school to attend his second period U.S. history class, his lawyers said he was directed to The New York Varick Immigration Court, and detained without notice or individualized explanation before being transferred to Office of Refugee Resettlement custody in the Bronx that same day."

"He began the Family Court process in May 2024 after his father abandoned him, per court filings. In December 2024, a Bronx County Family Court judge ruled that it was not in his best interest to return to Ecuador, finding that he should remain in the United States and benefit from the protections available to him as a vulnerable youth, according to his attorneys."

Joel Camas, a 16-year-old junior at Gotham Collaborative High School who hoped to become a certified mechanic, was taken into ICE custody during a routine check-in in October despite having approved Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and a pathway toward a green card. Joel arrived from Ecuador in late 2022 with his mother and began Family Court proceedings in May 2024 after his father abandoned him. In December 2024, a Bronx Family Court judge ruled it was not in his best interest to return to Ecuador. Joel was directed from a scheduled ICE check-in to Varick Immigration Court, transferred to ORR custody in the Bronx, and remains detained even though a judge has stayed his removal order. About four weeks earlier his mother, Elvia Chafla, had appeared for her own immigration check-in while under ICE supervision and enrolled in the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program.

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