It was supposed to be a routine immigration check-in, but instead a 16-year-old boy ended up in federal custody.

“This is about an unlawful arrest and detention of a child who has lawful status here in the country and cannot be detained under the constitution and the laws of this country,” Elizabeth Gyori, who’s representing the teen, and is a senior staff attorney at the New York City Liberties Union, said.

What You Need To Know

The New York City Liberties Union and The Door filed an emergency lawsuit after the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained the Bronx high school junior identified in court papers only as “EJCC”

His attorneys say he has special immigration juvenile status

The Department of Homeland Security says a federal judge ordered their removal in February 2024

The teen is now in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement in the Bronx while a federal judge reviews his case

The NYCLU and The Door filed an emergency lawsuit after the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained the Bronx high school junior identified in court papers only as “EJCC.”

His attorneys say he has special immigration juvenile status, which is a protection for minors a court has found to have been abused or abandoned and who cannot safely return home.

“Our contention is that the order cannot apply with him being granted special immigrant juvenile status because it would completely upend the statutory scheme of SIJ,” Gyori said.

The teen and his mother fled gang violence in Ecuador in 2022.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, a federal judge ordered their removal in February 2024.

The teen’s mother, fearing detention, self-deported last month.

In a statement, DHS says the boy “will be reunited with family.”

“He had already had a family court finding that his father had abandoned him as a child and that is in his best interest to stay in the country,” Gyori said.

The teen is now in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement in the Bronx while a federal judge reviews his case.

The Department of Education says it’s sad that one of its students is detained, calling him, “a student who should be at school today with his classmates.”

Advocates say this is the latest example of DHS turning routine check-ins and courthouse appointments into enforcement traps.