Federal judge orders release of Bronx teen detained by ICE | amNewYork

"After nearly a month in federal custody, a Bronx high school junior who was detained during a routine immigration check-in is set to be released, his lawyers announced Monday. Joel Camas, a 16-year-old junior at Gotham Collaborative High School, was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Oct. 23 despite having approved Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and a pending pathway to permanent residency, according to court filings."

"His attorneys from the New York Civil Liberties Union and The Door's Legal Services Center said he was complying with all government requirements when he appeared with counsel for the mandatory appointment at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan. Instead, officers directed him to the New York Varick Immigration Court, detained him without notice, and transferred him the same day to an Office of Refugee Resettlement facility in the Bronx, his lawyers said."

"Joel arrived in New York from Ecuador in late 2022 with his mother and has been living with relatives since then. He began the Family Court process in May 2024 after his father abandoned him. That December, a Bronx Family Court judge ruled it was not in his best interest to return to Ecuador and that he should remain in the United States to receive the protections available to him as a vulnerable youth, according to his attorneys."

Joel Camas, 16, was taken into ICE custody on Oct. 23 despite approved Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and a pending pathway to permanent residency. He attended a mandatory appointment at 26 Federal Plaza with counsel and was complying with reporting requirements when officers directed him to the New York Varick Immigration Court, detained him without notice, and transferred him to an Office of Refugee Resettlement facility in the Bronx. A federal judge stayed his removal order in a habeas petition, though he remained detained. Joel arrived from Ecuador in late 2022 and entered the Family Court process after his father abandoned him; a Bronx judge later ordered he remain in the United States to receive protections as a vulnerable youth.

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