A Bronx public school student detained last year by federal authorities should be added to the list of immigration cases Mayor Zohran Mamdani is asking President Donald Trump to dismiss, immigration advocates and lawyers say.<\/p>\n
Dylan Lopez Contreras, an immigrant from Venezuela, was the first New York City public school student to be detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities during Trump\u2019s second-term immigration crackdown. His arrest drew outrage from elected officials, including Mamdani.<\/p>\n
His omission from the mayor\u2019s roster of immigration cases raises questions among immigration advocates about how the mayor decided which detainees he sought relief for when he met with Trump at the White House last week. The mayor\u2019s primary reason for visiting the president was to pitch federal funding for housing<\/a>.<\/p>\n All of the individuals Mamdani chose to bring to the president\u2019s attention had ties to Columbia University, according to details released from the mayor\u2019s office. Four of the people \u2014 Mahmoud Khalil, Yunseo Chung, Mohsen Mahdawi and Leqaa Kordia \u2013 had participated in demonstrations over Israel\u2019s war in Gaza, a political cause shared by Mamdani.<\/p>\n \u201cDylan should be at the top of the list,\u201d said Ruth Messinger, a former Manhattan borough president and prominent advocate for immigrants. \u201cIt\u2019s the most outrageous detention.<\/p>\n All for the sin of going to school and taking care of his family.\u201d<\/p>\n Messinger said she communicated her concerns last week to an official in the Mamdani administration.<\/p>\n When asked about Contreras’ case, Joe Calvello, the mayor\u2019s press secretary, sent a statement about the Columbia students. The statement did not address Contreras.<\/p>\n Power Malu, a grassroots immigration activist who has been assisting Contreras, said he was surprised that the mayor did not include him on his list.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are disappointed to say the least, but want to give him the benefit of the doubt and allow him to amend his list,\u201d Malu said in a text.<\/p>\n Chloe Chik, a spokesperson for New York Legal Assistance Group, which is representing Contreras, said \u200b\u200bhis legal team \u201cis tirelessly working for his release through every available channel, including elevating Dylan’s case to the Mayor’s office, who are in touch with us about next steps.\u201d<\/p>\n Messinger said that Brad Lander, the former city comptroller, reached out to the mayor directly. During the mayoral race, Lander was arrested by federal agents<\/a> while trying to escort a migrant out of a federal immigration courthouse.<\/p>\n Lauren Hitt, a spokesperson for Lander, said he declined to comment on private conversations with the mayor. But she added that Lander \u201cbelieves strongly\u201d that Contreras should be released. Lander is running for Congress and has been endorsed by Mamdani.<\/p>\n Contreras, who was a 20-year-old high school student at the time he was detained, is considered among the most high-profile immigration cases in New York City. He was arrested by federal agents on May 21 during a routine hearing in immigration court in Manhattan.<\/p>\n Mamdani, then in the final weeks of his primary race to be the Democratic candidate for mayor, accused Trump\u2019s immigration enforcement of \u201ckidnapping New York City high school students.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is where Eric Adams’ silence and complicity has led us,\u201d he added<\/a> on X.<\/p>\n Last month, Sen. Chuck Schumer brought Contreras\u2019 mother<\/a> as his guest to Trump\u2019s State of the Union address.<\/p>\n Other prominent detention cases of New Yorkers include a City Council employee<\/a> who was taken by authorities in March.<\/p>\n Of those on Mamdani\u2019s list, only one was released: Ellie Aghayeva<\/a>, a 29-year-old Columbia student who was detained the morning the mayor was set to meet with the president.<\/p>\n Messinger said that she thinks the mayor\u2019s strategy of offering up a specific list of individuals makes sense, given Trump\u2019s personality.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the president\u2019s style,\u201d she said. \u201cHe\u2019s not likely to focus.\u201d<\/p>\n But she added that Contreras\u2019 case merited \u201cspecial attention.\u201d<\/p>\n