New York celebrates a humanitarian victory. This Wednesday, Dylan Lopez Contreras, the first student in the city’s public system detained under the current Donald Trump administration, was finally released after spending ten months in a processing center in Pennsylvania.
Dylan, a 20-year-old Venezuelan who was attending a Bronx center for adults, was arrested on May 21, 2025. What was supposed to be a routine hearing for his asylum application turned into an ambush by ICE agents, who took him into custody despite the fact that he had no criminal record.
Pressure on the “Border Czar”.
When I met with Tom Homan earlier this month, I shared Dylan’s name and demanded his release.
After 10 long, painful months in ICE detention, Dylan is finally coming home to his family.https://t.co/iLN2zYaAi0
– Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) March 18, 2026
The release of Dylan López Contreras was no coincidence.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul revealed that the issue was a priority in her recent meeting with Tom Homan, the controversial White House “Border Czar”.
“I personally asked Homan to release the young man and for federal forces to focus on real threats and stop targeting law-abiding people,” Hochul said after the news was confirmed.
“While I am relieved by Dylan’s release, we cannot stop here. The federal government must work with New York to repatriate all those who have been unjustly detained and separated from their families,” said Hochul.
“A New Yorker back home.”
Our City is overjoyed that Dylan has finally been released from detention and will be back home with his loved ones in the Bronx.
What should have been a time for him to focus on finishing high school instead became ten long months of isolation, after he was taken into custody… https://t.co/9AtWnZVK7Q
– Maj. Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) March 18, 2026
The city’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, also joined the celebrations, highlighting Dylan’s resilience during these months of isolation.
“What should have been time to finish the institute turned into almost a year of unfair lockdown,” the aedile declared.
According to the mayor, the Venezuelan has shown “extraordinary strength, resilience and courage” during this time and wished him a “calm and happy” return: “He is a New Yorker, and our city is happy to have him back home,” he added.
For their part, activists from the New York Immigration Coalition were more blunt, calling the original arrest an “institutional kidnapping” by ICE, since the young man was tricked into going to an official government appointment.
“Dylan is a student, a hard worker and a beloved son. Dylan is a New Yorker. Dylan, his family and his community at ELLIS Prep High School will now be able to resume their lives. But while this is a step toward justice, Dylan will never get back the time he spent unjustly behind bars,” said Murad Awawdeh, President and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition.
The momentum of the ‘New York For All’ Act
Dylan Lopez Contreras was the first high school student in New York City known to be detained by ICE since President Donald Trump took office for his second term.
More: https://t.co/4fAazVis2q pic.twitter.com/asvnV7kRMu
– Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) March 18, 2026
This case has reignited the urgency of passing the ‘New York For All’ bill, which seeks to definitively prohibit local and state agents from collaborating with federal immigration authorities.
With Dylan’s release, immigrant advocates hope to send a clear message: schools and courts should be safe spaces.
Dylan will now be able to resume his life at ELLIS Prep High School, closing a chapter that put the Big Apple’s “Sanctuary City” policy to the test.
With information from EFE
