ICE denies Detroit high school student's request to stay in U.S. until graduation

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has denied a request by a Detroit high school student to stay in the U.S., according to his attorney.
Maykol Bogoya Duarte, 18, of Detroit, who is currently in an ICE detention center in Louisiana, had requested on Monday, June 9, a stay of removal filed by his attorney, Ruby Robinson. But that request was denied by ICE on Wednesday, June 11.
The denial means that Duarte, an immigrant from Colombia who lived in Detroit, may soon be deported once ICE is able to gather other Colombian nationals for a plane to Colombia.
The jail where Duarte is currently housed, Pine Prairie ICE Processing Center in Louisiana, is known as a staging area for immigrants about to be deported, Robinson said.
The denial came despite desperate pleas by Duarte and his supporters in Michigan. More than 1,600 have signed a petition asking for his release until he can graduate from high school. Duarte has just three to four credits remaining to get his diploma, Robinson said. Elected officials, including Detroit's two U.S. House representatives, issued statements calling for his release.
More: Border Patrol arrested a Detroit student on a field trip. He now faces deportation.
U.S. House Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Detroit, said June 11 he sent a letter June 10 to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem asking for "an immediate update on his well-being, the reasons why he was initially targeted by law enforcement, and that he be granted a stay of deportation to complete his education."
A protest was planned for late Wednesday outside an ICE office building in downtown Detroit on Michigan Avenue.
The mother of Duarte said she's appreciative of the community support, saying in a statement through the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center: "Mil mil gracias," or "Thanks a million."
More: Detroit high school student detained by ICE pleads to halt deportation until graduation
Duarte, a student at Western International High School, was stopped by Rockwood police in May while headed to a field trip in a Downriver park along with some other students. He was accused of tailgating a police officer in an unmarked car. Rockwood police then called Border Patrol, who then arrested Duarte. He was later transported to an ICE jail five hours north in Sault Ste. Marie and is now in Louisiana.
ICE did not comment June 11 on Duarte's case, but has previously said he was an illegal alien who had a previous order of deportation. Robinson said Duarte and his mother had previously applied for asylum after entering the U.S. about one and a half years ago.
There was a protest in support of immigrants on June 11 in a separate case outside the McNamara Federal Building on Michigan Avenue after some claimed ICE had arrested immigrants showing up for court cases. The arrests could not be immediately verified, but an ICE spokesman released a statement to the Free Press saying that ICE officers have permission "to conduct civil immigration enforcement actions in or near courthouses when they have credible information that leads them to believe the targeted alien(s) is or will be present at a specific location."
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: ICE denies a Detroit high school student's request for stay of removal