By SÍLE MOLONEY

U.S. SENATE DEMOCRATIC Leader Chuck Schumer addresses attendees at the inauguration of Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson for her second term at the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts in the Bedford Park section of The Bronx on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. 
Photo by Síle Moloney

U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer announced Tuesday, Feb. 24, that he has invited Raiza Contreras, mother of ICE detained Marble Hill high school student, Dylan Josue Lopez Contreras, as his personal guest to U.S. President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night.

 

As reported in May 2025, Dylan, 20, had been attending English Language Learners International Support Academy (ELLIS) in Marble Hill, before he was detained by ICE during a scheduled court appearance. As reported, he has since become subject to a deportation order.

 

Schumer said Dylan was the first New York City public school student detained under the Trump administration’s mass-detention and deportation campaign implemented by the U.S. Department of Immigration, Customs & Enforcement (ICE), a campaign, which Schumer says, is terrorizing communities across America.

THE NEW YORK Immigration Coalition (NYIC) and various other partners, including but not limited to United Federation of Teachers (UFT), labor groups, Bronx Defenders, City Council Members, including Eric Dinowitz, Gail Brewer, Carmen de La Rosa, former Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger, co-chair of the board of Interfaith Center of NY, Power Malu, and president of compassion, Candice Braun, and chief empathy officer at Artists Athletes Activists/ROCC NYC, gather at Tweed Courthouse in Lower Manhattan to call for the release from ICE detention of a Marble Hill high school student known as “Dylan” during a rally on Thursday, May 29, 2025.
Photo by Síle Moloney

According to his lawyers, Dylan entered the United States in April 2024 through a program that allowed migrants to present themselves lawfully and seek asylum. They said he was permitted to remain in the country while awaiting his hearing, had obtained work authorization and a learner’s permit, and enrolled in high school.

 

Meanwhile, New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) represents Dylan in his immigration case and in a petition for habeas corpus challenging his unlawful detention. Kate Fetrow, associate supervising attorney in NYLAG’s Immigration Protection Unit, released a statement on Tuesday, saying, “NYLAG is working tirelessly to get Dylan home to his mom, his siblings, and his school, but unfortunately, the federal government is fighting tooth and nail to prevent him from even having a modicum of due process.

 

She continued, “Dylan is a beloved and valued member of his high school, and like so many immigrant students, he strives to do well in school, make friends, and live a full and free life in his new home here in America. Despite Dylan following every immigration rule, ICE ripped him from his family and DHS has illegally imprisoned him for nearly nine months without due process. His arrest and continued detention are emblematic of the injustice and cruelty of arresting people appearing in immigration court.”

 

Fetrow added, “Dylan’s constitutional rights and the rights of thousands of immigrants have been trampled by a federal agency hellbent on tearing apart families and communities. By having Dylan’s mother accompany him to the State of the Union, our Senator reaffirms that Dylan and everyone, regardless of immigration status, deserve justice in this country.”