Latest news with #WesternInternationalHighSchool
CBS News
2 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Protesters gather as Detroit high school student faces deportation
Protestors on Tuesday gathered outside of a Detroit Public Schools Community District meeting after a high school student was detained last month and now faces deportation. As community members are still reacting to the arrest of 18-year-old Western International High School student Maykol Boyoga Duarte, protestors say the school district needs to do more. "This board and this district needs to stand unequivocally of their students, of all of their students, of their immigrant students," said Kate Stenvig during the meeting at Martin Luther King Jr. High School. "He is one of my friends, he's actually a great friend. He's a great student and he is always trying to help others," said Bogoya-Duarte's friend, Abigail Pareda. On May 20, Bogoya-Duarte was on his way to Lake Erie Metropark with three classmates on a school field trip when Rockwood police pulled him over. Police say the officer had trouble communicating with him in English and called the border patrol. During the investigation, the federal agent discovered Bogoya-Duarte was in the U.S. illegally, resulting in his arrest. The 18-year-old was months away from graduating from high school. One of his teachers explained the 18-year-old's current situation. "Losing his job, being cut off by his family and friends, spending 19 days in a prison in the Upper Peninsula, being told one night he's being deported the next morning at 3 a.m., and then being transported to a different prison in Battle Creek, where he has been for 2 days. He could get deported at any minute, and we just found out he's in a prison in Louisiana," said high school teacher Kristin Shuttle. Another protest is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday outside the ICE and DPD police headquarters in Detroit. On Saturday at 1 p.m., there will be a march at Clark Park against President Trump and recent deportations. DPSCD issued the following statement after Tuesday's meeting:
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Advocates call on Michigan lawmakers to condemn ICE detention of Detroit student
Advocates are calling on Michigan lawmakers and school officials to condemn the immigration arrest of an 18-year-old Western International High School student. (Elaine Cromie / Chalkbeat) This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for Chalkbeat Detroit's free newsletter to keep up with the city's public school system and Michigan education policy. Maykol Bogoya-Duarte, an 18-year-old undocumented immigrant, had planned to return to Colombia with his mother after he graduated from Western International High School. With roughly one semester left in school, Maykol began making arrangements to leave the U.S. But his plans and his education were upended last month when he was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Instead of finishing out his junior year this week, the teen is in custody of the federal government and faces an 'imminent' risk of deportation, according to his attorney. Immigration advocates are now calling on Michigan's governor, several Democratic members of the state's congressional delegation, and Detroit school district leaders to fight for Maykol's release so he can complete his schooling in the U.S. 'At this time of the year, students should be focused on graduation and summer,' said Ruby Robinson, senior managing attorney with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, who is representing Maykol. 'And here we have a student on precious time who is being deported. He should be able to finish his studies.' Maykol is only 3.5 credits away from graduating, Robinson said, and would likely be able to finish school around the end of the calendar year. His attorney said he is asking to be released and granted a stay of deportation to see his studies through before returning to Colombia. Maykol was arrested on May 20 after he attempted to join a school field trip to Lake Erie Metropark, about 25 miles from Detroit. While driving with three other students in the car, Maykol was pulled over for tailgating another vehicle, said Robinson. The teen was asked to provide his driver's license but only had a City of Detroit identification card. Michigan does not currently issue driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants. The local police officers who pulled Maykol over could not speak Spanish and had trouble communicating with him, Robinson said, so they called Customs and Border Protection. 'An important aspect of this story is that local police, instead of relying on internal translation services, were relying on Border Patrol agents to interpret for them,' said Robinson. The practice of calling on Border Protection for traffic stops with people who can't speak English could be interpreted as racial profiling, the attorney said. Randy Krause, chief of the Rockwood Police Department, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Maykol, who came to the U.S. at 16, received a final deportation order in 2024. After that, Maykol was working with ICE and the Colombian Consulate to obtain the travel documents he needed to depart the country, according to his attorney. 'We were in compliance with their order,' said Robinson, adding the documents are required in order to board an airplane out of the country. 'It takes time for those documents to be generated.' He was still in the process of arranging to return to Colombia with his mother when he was arrested. It's unclear if he would have been able to graduate before leaving. On Monday afternoon, Robinson and Maykol's family didn't know where he was. They believed he was being moved from the Chippewa County Correctional Facility to another location early Monday morning, the attorney said. 'We expect when he does reach where he will spend the night tonight, we will be able to find him, or he will be able to make a phone call to us or his mom,' said Robinson. The attorney said because of the high number of people detained by ICE, the agency places them wherever bed space is available. 'We're seeing people detained in far parts of Michigan,' he said. 'We're also seeing people being sent to Ohio and other places as well.' By Monday afternoon, nearly 900 people had signed a petition asking Michigan officials to condemn Maykol's arrest, urge for him to be released to complete his high school education, and 'to put preventative policies in place to better support immigrant students and families.' Three advocacy groups — 482Forward, MI Students Dream, and the People's Assembly — created the petition. Lindsey Matson, the deputy director of 482Forward, said the advocacy effort is aimed at raising awareness of the issue and the petition, if it gains traction, will put pressure on those who have the power to intervene. 'Even a statement from the school board will be helpful,' Matson added. The petition calls for action from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, U.S. Sens. Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin, U.S. House Reps. Shri Thanedar and Rashida Tlaib, and the Detroit Public Schools Community District. Thanedar, in a Monday evening post on X, formerly Twitter, responded to the detention, saying: 'ICE should not be detaining high schoolers! Maykol Bogoya-Duarte just needs 3 credits to graduate, but was put in detention by ICE. He should be released immediately and allowed to get his diploma.' Nikolai Vitti, superintendent of the district, told Chalkbeat last week that the school system's police department had advocated on the student's behalf. But the district did not notify students and families of the arrest because Maykol was not 'under the protection and responsibility' of the school system when ICE detained him, said Vitti. Robinson said notification about the incident or future instances like it would provide reassurances to families about how the district responds in these situations. 'I think people are looking for something like that from the school district,' said Robinson. In addition to advocating for Maykol's release to allow the teen to finish school, the attorney said the district should ensure its policies and practices support the needs of community members with immigration challenges. That includes making sure students and staff understand their rights in interactions with law enforcement, he added. In New York, the detention of a student has gained widespread attention and calls from advocates and political leaders for his release. (A second teen has since been detained.) Similarly, the detention of a teenager in Massachusetts prompted rallies. Less attention has been paid to Maykol's plight in comparison. Matson said his case isn't less important than what has happened in the other states. 'I feel like Democrats in Michigan have not really stood up for our immigrant population here,' she said. The advocacy groups calling for Maykol's release are asking community members to attend the Detroit Public Schools Community District board meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Martin Luther King Jr. High School to urge school leaders to make public statements. Immigration advocates are also encouraging community members to call the offices of state and national lawmakers, as well as ICE. Lori Higgins is the Detroit bureau chief. You can reach her at lhiggins@ Hannah Dellinger covers K-12 education and state education policy for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at hdellinger@ Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Border Patrol arrested a Detroit student on a field trip. He now faces deportation.
Border Patrol agents recently detained a Detroit high school student on his way to a field trip in a Downriver park after he was pulled over by local police. The 18-year-old immigrant from Colombia is now in jail and faces deportation because he was living in the U.S. illegally and already had a removal order from a judge, federal officials said. On the afternoon of May 20, the student was driving in a car with other students from Western International High School when he was pulled over by Rockwood police, according to a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). A federal official said the student was pulled over by police for a traffic stop; two officials with the Detroit Public Schools Community District said the student was accused of tailgating a Rockwood police car. He and three other students with him in the car were on Huron River Drive on their way to Lake Erie Metropark in Brownstown Township, where a field trip was taking place, when police pulled them over about a mile from the park. CBP has a station in Gibraltar with agents that's about a 5-minute drive north of the area where the students were pulled over. Police discovered the driver had no driver's license, then contacted Border Patrol, a federal official said. A Detroit schools teacher said police told her they contacted Border Patrol because they couldn't understand Spanish. The teacher said some of the students told her the police contacted Border Patrol after the student said he was from Colombia. "An illegal alien with a final deportation order was arrested while driving high school students on a field trip near Rockwood, Michigan," a spokesman for CBP told the Free Press in a May 22 statement. "Rockwood Police pulled over the vehicle and found the driver had no license — only a City of Detroit ID. Border Patrol confirmed he was in the country illegally, having ignored a judge's removal order and lost his appeal." All four of the car's passengers "were students from Western International High School" in Detroit, the CBP spokesman said. "The driver was the only one without legal status and is currently in" the custody of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), which is part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the spokesman added. The school officials said the student is currently jailed at Chippewa County Correctional Facility in the Upper Peninsula, which is a five-hour drive north of Detroit. The student has lived in the U.S. for about a year and a half, and currently lives in Detroit, a school official said. Chrystal Wilson, a spokesperson for DPSCD, didn't comment on the arrest and didn't offer details on how the district supervises immigrant students on trips outside the school. A teacher who was on the field trip said "these were students who didn't have permission to go, and who drove separately without permission in an attempt to meet up with the field trip." The trip at Lake Erie Metropark included canoeing and speaking with naturalists about the park. Another federal official with CBP gave more details on what happened. Agents assigned to Border Patrol's Gibraltar Station were initially contacted by local police to assist on a traffic stop for a man identified as someone operating a motor vehicle without a driver's license with passengers who were minors, the official said. "Agents were able to identify the man, determined he was an illegal alien and took him into custody," the official said. "Further investigation revealed that the Colombian man had already been ordered deported by an immigration judge." The student was then turned over to ICE. A resource coordinator for the Detroit school district who often works with schools in southwest Detroit said that after the student was arrested, she was called by some teachers to help the students. She said she followed the Border Patrol car the student was put in as it drove from the scene of the arrest in Rockwood to their station in Gibraltar. She waited in the lobby for three to four hours. More: Taylor Police Department is first agency in metro Detroit to sign agreement with ICE The school official said the students were called "bag" and "baggage" by a Border Patrol agent, which she said were dehumanizing terms. A video she recorded of her interaction with a Border Patrol agent shows the agent replying: "That's the process and pathway we take. ... This individual has already been issued a final order of approval." Another video shows her asking Border Patrol if they would give the student a note she wrote with an attorney's name, the attorney's phone number, her number and that she would be contacting his family. "I'll be here until I hear he's gotten the note," she said. A person who appeared to be with Border Patrol replied that "we have people that speak Spanish here at the station." The Border Patrol official is also heard on the video telling the school official: "This is our building. ... When we tell you you have to leave, you have to leave." The school official said she eventually left at 4 p.m., the building's closing time. The two school officials questioned why local police had to call Border Patrol for a traffic violation. Immigrant advocates have criticized police departments working with federal immigration agents. Last month in April, Taylor police became the first department in metro Detroit to enter into an agreement with ICE. Even without such agreements, local police this year have been contacting Border Patrol or ICE after detaining people suspected of being immigrants, a practice advocates said often leads to profiling of groups such as Latinos. Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@ or X @nwarikoo This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Border Patrol detains Detroit high school student on field trip
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Border Patrol arrested a Detroit student on a field trip. He now faces deportation.
Border Patrol agents recently detained a Detroit high school student on his way to a field trip in a Downriver park after he was pulled over by local police. The 18-year-old immigrant from Colombia is now in jail and faces deportation because he was living in the U.S. illegally and already had a removal order from a judge, federal officials said. On the afternoon of May 20, the student was driving in a car with other students from Western International High School when he was pulled over by Rockwood police, according to a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). A federal official said the student was pulled over by police for a traffic stop; two officials with the Detroit Public Schools Community District said the student was accused of tailgating a Rockwood police car. He and three other students with him in the car were on Huron River Drive on their way to Lake Erie Metropark in Brownstown Township, where a field trip was taking place, when police pulled them over about a mile from the park. CBP has a station in Gibraltar with agents that's about a 5-minute drive north of the area where the students were pulled over. Police discovered the driver had no driver's license, then contacted Border Patrol, a federal official said. A Detroit schools teacher said police told her they contacted Border Patrol because they couldn't understand Spanish. The teacher said some of the students told her the police contacted Border Patrol after the student said he was from Colombia. "An illegal alien with a final deportation order was arrested while driving high school students on a field trip near Rockwood, Michigan," a spokesman for CBP told the Free Press in a May 22 statement. "Rockwood Police pulled over the vehicle and found the driver had no license — only a City of Detroit ID. Border Patrol confirmed he was in the country illegally, having ignored a judge's removal order and lost his appeal." All four of the car's passengers "were students from Western International High School" in Detroit, the CBP spokesman said. "The driver was the only one without legal status and is currently in" the custody of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), which is part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the spokesman added. The school officials said the student is currently jailed at Chippewa County Correctional Facility in the Upper Peninsula, which is a five-hour drive north of Detroit. The student has lived in the U.S. for about a year and a half, and currently lives in Detroit, a school official said. Chrystal Wilson, a spokesperson for DPSCD, didn't comment on the arrest and didn't offer details on how the district supervises immigrant students on trips outside the school. A teacher who was on the field trip said "these were students who didn't have permission to go, and who drove separately without permission in an attempt to meet up with the field trip." The trip at Lake Erie Metropark included canoeing and speaking with naturalists about the park. Another federal official with CBP gave more details on what happened. Agents assigned to Border Patrol's Gibraltar Station were initially contacted by local police to assist on a traffic stop for a man identified as someone operating a motor vehicle without a driver's license with passengers who were minors, the official said. "Agents were able to identify the man, determined he was an illegal alien and took him into custody," the official said. "Further investigation revealed that the Colombian man had already been ordered deported by an immigration judge." The student was then turned over to ICE. A resource coordinator for the Detroit school district who often works with schools in southwest Detroit said that after the student was arrested, she was called by some teachers to help the students. She said she followed the Border Patrol car the student was put in as it drove from the scene of the arrest in Rockwood to their station in Gibraltar. She waited in the lobby for three to four hours. More: Taylor Police Department is first agency in metro Detroit to sign agreement with ICE The school official said the students were called "bag" and "baggage" by a Border Patrol agent, which she said were dehumanizing terms. A video she recorded of her interaction with a Border Patrol agent shows the agent replying: "That's the process and pathway we take. ... This individual has already been issued a final order of approval." Another video shows her asking Border Patrol if they would give the student a note she wrote with an attorney's name, the attorney's phone number, her number and that she would be contacting his family. "I'll be here until I hear he's gotten the note," she said. A person who appeared to be with Border Patrol replied that "we have people that speak Spanish here at the station." The Border Patrol official is also heard on the video telling the school official: "This is our building. ... When we tell you you have to leave, you have to leave." The school official said she eventually left at 4 p.m., the building's closing time. The two school officials questioned why local police had to call Border Patrol for a traffic violation. Immigrant advocates have criticized police departments working with federal immigration agents. Last month in April, Taylor police became the first department in metro Detroit to enter into an agreement with ICE. Even without such agreements, local police this year have been contacting Border Patrol or ICE after detaining people suspected of being immigrants, a practice advocates said often leads to profiling of groups such as Latinos. Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@ or X @nwarikoo This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Border Patrol detains Detroit high school student on field trip
