Latest news with #NYLAG
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
New diagnosis poses serious risk to NYC public school student detained by ICE, his lawyers say
NEW YORK — Bronx public school student Dylan, who was detained by federal authorities at a recent immigration hearing, received a medical diagnosis over the weekend that his lawyers believe should have required his immediate release. Worse yet, for days after learning of his diagnosis, Dylan's legal team at the New York Legal Assistance Group was unable to reach him until Monday, according to new filings in a federal court case known as a 'habeas corpus' petition, where he is challenging his detention as unlawful. Dylan, 20-year-old Venezuelan, is currently being held in Pennsylvania. At a conference Monday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Stephanie Haines in Pennsylvania denied Dylan's emergency motion, though his lawyers said they were told they could refile after the court and federal government review the medical records. His broader case challenging his detention remains ongoing. 'While we are disappointed with today's decision by the judge, we remain unwavering in our determination to fight for justice, due process and to bring Dylan home as soon as humanly possible,' said a NYLAG spokesperson. Dylan had been receiving medical tests for gastrointestinal issues that could be symptoms of Crohn's disease or cancer at the time he was detained, the Daily News previously reported. His medical records and other sensitive health information were put under seal on Monday. 'It would be profoundly unfair, and irreversible, if prolonging this unlawful detention causes further and possibly very serious harm to this young man's health at an exceptionally delicate point in his medical history,' Dylan's filings continued. Immigration cases are not available to the public, and his last name is being withheld per his family's request. Separately, the city's Law Department made a motion to file an amicus brief on Monday, insisting the manner in which Dylan was arrested at a routine court hearing on May 21 could deter people from accessing the court system. 'The implications threaten to reach well beyond the immigration arena and reach the countless other matters affecting public welfare that require our residents to appear in court every day,' read the city's filing in support of Dylan. In a statement alongside the brief, Mayor Eric Adams added Dylan was going through the legal process to be allowed to work, and accessed a public center helping migrants avoid city shelters and become independent. 'But instead of being rewarded for following the law, he was punished for doing what we all asked him to do,' Adams said. DHS did not return a request for comment on Monday afternoon but last week condemned a Biden-era asylum process that allowed immigrants like Dylan to enter the country with a notice to appear before a judge. The agency claimed President Donald Trump has gone back to following the law and that the student and others in his position should have faced expedited removal from the beginning. 'If individuals have a valid credible-fear claim, they will continue in immigration proceedings,' officials said in a statement, 'but if no valid claim is found, aliens will be subject to a swift deportation.' He has since notched a win in the process when he passed DHS's credible fear interview, meaning he will not be deported immediately and can bring his case back before an immigration judge — the process he was undertaking when he was suddenly arrested. Dylan, a student at Ellis Prep High School, is pursuing a pathway to a green card. He has no criminal record. His detention has struck a chord with New York politicians and advocates, who turned out last week en masse to protest his detention and Adams' relative silence on his arrest before the amicus brief filed Monday. _____
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
New diagnosis poses serious risk to NYC public school student detained by ICE, his lawyers say
NEW YORK — Bronx public school student Dylan, who was detained by federal authorities at a recent immigration hearing, received a medical diagnosis over the weekend that his lawyers believe should have required his immediate release. Worse yet, for days after learning of his diagnosis, Dylan's legal team at the New York Legal Assistance Group was unable to reach him until Monday, according to new filings in a federal court case known as a 'habeas corpus' petition, where he is challenging his detention as unlawful. Dylan, 20-year-old Venezuelan, is currently being held in Pennsylvania. At a conference Monday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Stephanie Haines in Pennsylvania denied Dylan's emergency motion, though his lawyers said they were told they could refile after the court and federal government review the medical records. His broader case challenging his detention remains ongoing. 'While we are disappointed with today's decision by the judge, we remain unwavering in our determination to fight for justice, due process and to bring Dylan home as soon as humanly possible,' said a NYLAG spokesperson. Dylan had been receiving medical tests for gastrointestinal issues that could be symptoms of Crohn's disease or cancer at the time he was detained, the Daily News previously reported. His medical records and other sensitive health information were put under seal on Monday. 'It would be profoundly unfair, and irreversible, if prolonging this unlawful detention causes further and possibly very serious harm to this young man's health at an exceptionally delicate point in his medical history,' Dylan's filings continued. Immigration cases are not available to the public, and his last name is being withheld per his family's request. Separately, the city's Law Department made a motion to file an amicus brief on Monday, insisting the manner in which Dylan was arrested at a routine court hearing on May 21 could deter people from accessing the court system. 'The implications threaten to reach well beyond the immigration arena and reach the countless other matters affecting public welfare that require our residents to appear in court every day,' read the city's filing in support of Dylan. In a statement alongside the brief, Mayor Eric Adams added Dylan was going through the legal process to be allowed to work, and accessed a public center helping migrants avoid city shelters and become independent. 'But instead of being rewarded for following the law, he was punished for doing what we all asked him to do,' Adams said. DHS did not return a request for comment on Monday afternoon but last week condemned a Biden-era asylum process that allowed immigrants like Dylan to enter the country with a notice to appear before a judge. The agency claimed President Donald Trump has gone back to following the law and that the student and others in his position should have faced expedited removal from the beginning. 'If individuals have a valid credible-fear claim, they will continue in immigration proceedings,' officials said in a statement, 'but if no valid claim is found, aliens will be subject to a swift deportation.' He has since notched a win in the process when he passed DHS's credible fear interview, meaning he will not be deported immediately and can bring his case back before an immigration judge — the process he was undertaking when he was suddenly arrested. Dylan, a student at Ellis Prep High School, is pursuing a pathway to a green card. He has no criminal record. His detention has struck a chord with New York politicians and advocates, who turned out last week en masse to protest his detention and Adams' relative silence on his arrest before the amicus brief filed Monday. _____
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NYC public school student detained by federal immigration enforcement
A New York City public school student was detained by federal immigration authorities last week outside a court appearance in his asylum case, two advocates and his lawyers said. Twenty-year-old Dylan — whose last name is being withheld at the family's request through their lawyers — is a current student at English Language Learners and International Support (ELLIS) Preparatory Academy, an alternative high school in the Bronx for young adults who have lived in the United States for less than one year and are not yet proficient in English. All students at ELLIS Prep are considered 'over-age' but under-credited for students entering one of the city's traditional public high schools. ICE agents arrested Dylan, a citizen of Venezuela, outside the elevators in the lobby of 26 Federal Plaza on Wednesday after his case was dismissed by a judge, according to the New York Legal Assistance Group, or NYLAG. He was with his mom when he was detained and put into a van, the advocates said. 'People who are doing the right thing by going to immigration court on their court dates will now be worried if they're going to be deceived into giving up their status,' said Naveed Hasan, co-founder of D3 Open Arms, an immigration and education advocacy group. He added that families are worried about sending their kids to school after a fellow student was detained. 'Nothing good is going to come of this,' he said. Dylan is the first known local public school student to be put in detention by the second Trump administration. His arrest was first reported by the nonprofit news source Chalkbeat. Education officials confirmed Dylan was not on school grounds at the time of the arrest. 'Our hearts go out to the student who was detained by ICE, and we are deeply saddened for their family,' Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos posted on social media Monday. 'We want to reassure our families: we will continue to speak out and advocate for the safety, dignity, and rights of all of our students,' the post continued. Aviles-Ramos insisted public schools are still safe and urged families to keep sending their kids to school. In a twist, the request to dismiss the case came from the federal government, according to his legal team. However, when the court dismissed deportation proceedings, it also tossed his asylum case and made him vulnerable to Wednesday's detainment. His lawyers believe Dylan is in a Pennsylvania immigration detention center, though frequent moves across the country have made him hard to track. Before that, he was shuttled between Texas, Louisiana and New Jersey — complicating efforts to connect with his lawyers. Separately, he had a family court appearance scheduled for Friday, where he is seeking special immigrant juvenile status, a pathway to a green card. ICE did not immediately return a request for comment.
New York Post
07-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Bombshell complaint: Lawyers' union creates `toxic environment' for Jewish members
Union activists tormented Jewish colleagues with a 'toxic working environment' that spewed pro-terror, anti-Israel vitriol despite a stated policy of neutrality about the Gaza War, a bombshell new federal lawsuit claims. NY Legal Assistance Group attorneys and workers in the A Better NYLAG union were accused of posting signs in offices and cubicles and sporting buttons with slogans like 'Intifida Now' 'Resisting Colonialism is not Terrorism,' according to the complaint filed Tuesday by the Brandeis Center Coalition to Combat Antisemitism. The group argued the phrases rationalize killing Israeli Jews and discriminate against Jewish staffers, a 20-page complaint filed with the National Labor Relations Board and Equal Opportunity Commission said. 3 Union activists tormented Jewish colleagues with a 'toxic working environment' that spewed pro-terror, anti-Israel vitriol despite a stated policy of neutrality about the Gaza War. Gina M Randazzo/ZUMA Press Wire 'These signs are having the discriminatory effect of pushing Jewish people and/or Zionists out of these spaces,' one lawyer wrote in a March 21, 2015 email to the group. 'As a Jewish person, I should not have to work in such close proximity to signs that direct hatred towards me.' A Better NYGLAG, which is a chapter of the Association of Legal Attorneys/Local 2325 of the United Auto Workers union, receives $40 million in government funding a year to provide legal services to the poor residents, including migrants. It also receives support from Jewish groups such as the UJA Federation of New York. The legal assistance group, which employs about 350 lawyers and other staffers, issued a neutrality rule in May of last year barring posters and other material about the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack on the Jewish state. A memo on the rule emphasized the need to promote a 'welcoming' and 'inclusive' environment for all employees, no matter their views on the conflict. But the union protested, filing a complaint with the labor board in June, claiming NYLAG was suppressing the free speech rights of its pro-Palestinian members. One Jewish lawyer and union member, in an email sent to Better NYLAG leadership and included in the complaint said they were 'no longer able to ignore the blatant antisemitim of this bargaining unit.' 3 The union filed a complaint with the labor board in June, claiming NYLAG was suppressing the free speech rights of its pro-Palestinian members. A Better NYLAG 'You are intentionally seeking to harm members of the unit for your own personal political purposes which have absolutely nothing to do with the working conditions [of members],' the attorney said. The union leadership's action is beyond the pale, the complaint said. 'Rather than defend the right of these Jewish NYLAG employees in the ABN's [A Better NY LAG] bargaining unit to be free from a toxic work environment – created in large part by the ABN's own activities – the ABN went so far as to advocate against the very Jewish employees whom they purport to represent,' said Rory Lancman, senior council for the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law/ Coalition to Combat Antisemitism. 3 The group argued the phrases rationalize killing Israeli Jews and discriminate against Jewish staffers, a 20-page complaint filed with the National Labor Relations Board and Equal Opportunity Commission said. Brandeis Center 'The ABN is choosing to support discrimination against Jewish NYLAG employees in the bargaining unit to whom it owes a duty of fair representation and who are enduring an anti-Semitic environment that NYLAG's policy is attempting to remediate,' added Lancman, a former New York City Councilman. The complaint calls on federal officials to rule that the union violated its duty of fair representation to Jewish members and to prevent the union from interfering with the employer's efforts to comply with its legal obligation to prohibit discriminatory acts in the workplace. The labor group had no immediate comment. It's not the first controversy involving the UAW's Association of Legal Aid Attorneys. The Brandeis Center took legal action against the union last July for allegedly retaliating against three members who objected to its alleged antisemitic practices. Those employees worked for the Legal Aid Society.
