An 18-year-old Morris County high school student detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents while doing laundry last weekend was ordered released from an Elizabeth detention center on Thursday.
Juan Daniel Mendoza Sanabria, a student at Morristown High School, was picked up with about 10 people Sunday when ICE agents raided a laundromat and other businesses in Morristown.
ICE agents targeted the laundromat on Speedwell Avenue near Henry Street, officials said.
On Thursday, the student’s attorney filed court papers challenging the student’s detention at a facility in Elizabeth without a bond hearing.
A U.S. District Court judge determined the detention was unlawful and ordered Mendoza Sanabria’s release on Thursday, court records show.
“He is back home in Morristown,” Mayor Tim Dougherty said Friday.
Court records show Mendoza Sanabria came to the United States in 2024 as an unaccompanied child.
A GoFundMe established to help with his legal fight had raised more than $93,000 as of Friday morning.
“The fundraiser was created by community members who refused to stay silent as families like this are torn apart,” the organizers stated.
The student and several others were taken into custody inside the laundromat and at nearby businesses, Dougherty said.
“Morristown was not notified in advance and did not participate in or assist with this federal action,” Dougherty said.
Dougherty, who said his administration supports the town’s “diverse and immigrant communities,” expressed concern about the enforcement action.
“Morristown is a community built by generations of immigrants, and our diversity is one of our greatest strengths,” Dougherty said.