NEW YORK CITY — A homecoming celebration was held Thursday for a New York City high school student who spent nearly 10 months in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.
Dylan Lopez Contreras, 21, was taken into custody by ICE during a routine immigration check-in appointment. He spent 10 months at a facility in Pennsylvania but was freed Wednesday and returned home to New York City.
During a press conference Thursday, he was welcomed by family, friends and local leaders — including Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Contreras, who is originally from Venezuela, walked out in a New York Knicks hat to a crowd chanting his name and banners celebrating his return home. He wiped tears from his face at times during the ceremony.
He said even though he is home, he still feels for the people he left behind in the detention facility.
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“I want to thank all New York City, every single person that has stepped up, held my hand throughout all this. I want to thank all the advocates; I want to thank every single person that’s connected to someone who kept my name alive,” Contreras said through a translator. “I want to thank everyone who doesn’t forget about the people that are still in there.”
Dylan Lopez Contreras talks during a press conference to welcome him home after being freed from ICE detention, Thursday, March 19, 2026 in New York.
AP Photo/Adam Gray
He was the first high school student in New York City known to be detained by ICE since President Donald Trump took office for his second term.
“We are speaking about a high school freshman in our city, we are speaking about a young man whose years should have been defined by that which define so many freshmen years — learning about himself, the classes that he likes, ones that he can’t wait until the bell rings for, his friends that he makes, the city that he now calls his home,” Mamdani said. “And instead, he was taken from the city. He was put in detention for nearly a year, and he was robbed of what should have been his. Because above all else, Dylan is a New Yorker. He belongs in New York City. This city has been missing him and we are so grateful. We are so grateful that you are home.”
The legal specifics of how Contreras was freed are not yet known.
It is unclear when he will return to classes. His legal team said he hopes to graduate and study computer engineering in college. They added that he will resume his asylum case.
“Legally, he’s essentially back where he started, but he lost almost a year of his life,” New York Legal Assistance Group spokesperson Kristin Kepplinger said. “It’s very clear he’s not a threat to anyone. He’s not a flight risk. He’s exactly the kind of person you’d want as your neighbor. He couldn’t be happier to be home with his family.”
Contreras was attending a Bronx high school that caters to older newcomers.
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