Bronx student speaks for first time since release from ICE detention after 10 months

Dylan Contreras has missed a lot of things at home the past 10 months, including his 21st birthday. But on Thursday, he was thankful to be back in New York City after nearly a year in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center.

“I am incredibly grateful to everyone — from those who sent letters to those who made these beautiful banners — and to everyone who offered support, not just to me, but to many of my fellow detainees inside,” said López.

After being held in the detention center and facing imminent deportation, the young Venezuelan was finally able to breathe the air of freedom on Thursday, amidst a festive gathering at a church. Immigration advocates drove him back from the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania and helped translate for him at the jubilant event.

His mother, who never stopped fighting for his release, held him close.

Enrolled at Ellis Prep Academy in Marble Hill, then-20-year-old Contreras had no criminal history and was pursuing a green card after arriving from Venezuela. He became one of the first known NYC public school students to be detained by federal agents at the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term in 2025.

He was detained after a scheduled immigration hearing, with the Department of Homeland Security claiming he entered the U.S. illegally.

But Contreras’ legal team stated he entered with permission to seek asylum, and he was following the rules. His attorneys with the New York Legal Assistance Group said that after months of filing requests and petitions in federal court, the call from ICE came out of nowhere Wednesday.

“Dylan still has pending legal cases with USCIS and the immigration court; he is currently applying for—and awaiting a decision on—his Special Immigrant Juvenile Status,” said Annie Whitney, López’s attorney. 

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul stated that Lopez’s arrest was a disgrace and that this country stands for something more. She highlighted the work of activists and the motto that New York belongs to everyone.

“Dylan Contreras is home,” Hochul wrote on the social media platform X. “But we shouldn’t have had to fight for ten months to free a high school student who did everything right. And we will not rest until every innocent person whom ICE has snatched from the streets is reunited with their loved ones.”

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani emphasized that unity is fundamental and that New Yorkers deserve to remain in their city, where they will receive the protection they need — emphasizing that the five boroughs remains a sanctuary city.

“We are speaking about a high school freshman in our city,” said Mamdani. “This is a city that does not stand for children being snatched from their home.”

With more than 300 days of federal detention behind him, Contreras is focusing on family and home now. But that isn’t keeping him from thinking about the many others like him who are not free.

“I wish that I had the opportunity to bring them all with me when I left that facility but couldn’t,” he said.