Tensions flared in Manhattan over the weekend as a protest against federal immigration raids spiraled into confrontation. On Saturday afternoon, dozens gathered outside Federal Plaza, where the city’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office is located, to denounce the agency’s latest crackdown. According to the NYPD, several demonstrators were taken into custody after pushing past security barricades.
The protest is part of a growing wave of unrest following a nationwide surge in deportation efforts ordered by the Trump administration. In Los Angeles, ICE agents carried out over 40 arrests during simultaneous operations across multiple neighborhoods, prompting widespread demonstrations and clashes. Tear gas, rubber bullets, and mass detentions led the GOP-led administration to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops to support federal law enforcement.
In New York, anger was sparked by the detention of a 11th-grader at Grover Cleveland High School, a public school in the Ridgewood section of Queens. The student, who had traveled to the city’s immigration court for an asylum hearing, was detained on-site by ICE agents.
State Senator Mike Gianaris, who represents the area, confirmed the incident in a post on X: “Arresting minors in court and separating them from their families is unacceptable. I join the school community in calling for his immediate release.” Authorities have not disclosed the teen’s identity or his current location.
New York City Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos issued a statement expressing “deep concern,” noting that “this young person should be at home with his family, not in ICE custody.” She emphasized that the arrest did not occur on school grounds but urged families to continue sending children to class: “Our schools are and will remain safe spaces for all students.”
In May, Dylan Lopez Contreras, a 20-year-old student from Venezuela attending Ellis Preparatory Academy in the Bronx, was detained in similar circumstances. He had appeared for a mandatory immigration hearing in Lower Manhattan when ICE officers took him into custody.
According to reporting by Chalkbeat, Contreras entered the U.S. legally in April 2024 under a humanitarian parole program established by the Biden administration. The city has filed a formal request for his release, arguing that he is being held without proper due process.
Contreras is currently being held at the Moshannon Valley federal detention center in Pennsylvania.
Mayor Eric Adams’s office commented on the situation, saying, “We are aware of the arrest of a public school student following a court hearing and are gathering additional information. As the mayor has stated, our city is less safe when people are afraid to access public services, including attending hearings, and feel forced into the shadows.”
