Dylan Lopez Contreras, the first known New York City student targeted by federal immigration authorities after President Trump returned to office, spoke Thursday for the first time since his release — calling for others still in detention to be freed.
Lopez Contreras, 21, a Bronx high school student from Venezuela, was taken into custody at a routine immigration check-in last spring and transferred to a Pennsylvania facility, where he was held for nearly a year until his release on Wednesday.
During a news conference, he was welcomed back to New York by family, immigration advocates and elected officials, including Gov. Hochul, Mayor Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin.
Mayor Mamdani speaks during a press conference at Middle Church welcoming Dylan Lopez Contreras home from ICE detention Thursday, March 19, 2026, in the East Village, New York City. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News)
“I wanted to thank everybody who has had a hand, put an effort in helping me get out of the very ugly situation I was in,” Lopez Contreras said in Spanish through a translator at Middle Collegiate Church in the East Village.
“As much as I’m happy that I’m free and I’m out here, I’m still sad that there are people still in there unjustly that deserve to be free,” he added. “I wish that I had the opportunity to bring them all with me as I left.”
Lopez Contreras came to the United States in April 2024 through an entry program under former President Joe Biden that was rolled back when Trump took office.
Dylan Lopez Contreras gets a hug from his mother, Raiza Contreras, during a press conference at Middle Church welcoming Dylan home from ICE detention Thursday, March 19, 2026, in the East Village, New York City. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News)
He enrolled in ELLIS Preparatory Academy, a special public school in the Bronx for older students who recently immigrated to the country, where he was learning English while supporting his mom and younger siblings.
But his adjustment period to life in New York came to an abrupt halt last May when, at a scheduled immigration hearing, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers followed Lopez Contreras out of the courtroom and arrested him in the lobby. He remained in the Pennsylvania detention center for 10 months.
“When he was in the car with us, that is the one thing that he continues to say, is that he was thinking about all the rest of the people that were in there,” said Power Malu, an immigration advocate who picked Lopez Contreras up from the Pennsylvania facility. “Unfortunately, he says that he wants to be happy, but he’s still sad because they are in there.”
“All he’s been talking about are the people who are still there, some kind of survivor’s remorse,” said Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.
Barry Williams/New York Daily News
New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams speaks during a press conference at Middle Church welcoming Dylan Lopez Contreras home from ICE detention Thursday, March 19, 2026, in the East Village, New York City. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News)
After his arrest, advocates and Democratic elected officials came to the defense of Lopez Contreras, insisting he was following the asylum process for immigrants afraid of returning to their native countries but apprehended nonetheless.
While other local students were later arrested by ICE and either released or deported, Lopez Contreras continued to languish in custody as he faced setbacks in immigration and federal court, where he challenged his detention as illegal.
The circumstances that led to Lopez Contreras’s release were not immediately clear, though a number of advocates and politicians had been publicizing his case. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not return a request for comment on Wednesday.
The governor and mayor vowed to continue pushing for the release of all New York students in federal custody.
Barry Williams/New York Daily News
Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks during a press conference at Middle Church welcoming Dylan Lopez Contreras home from ICE detention Thursday, March 19, 2026, in the East Village, New York City. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News)
“I’m sick and tired of families that are being terrorized,” said Hochul, who had urged Trump’s border czar Tom Homan to release Lopez Contreras, among other New York students. “I’m feeling very optimistic about others on that list, as we’re in constant communication with Tom Homan and his office. But, my God, we’re better than this.”
“We will not rest until our students can focus on school,” Mamdani said. “Until our parents can focus on their lives. Until we do not have to fight for the most basic of things, like freedom, like dignity, like our rights.”