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<\/a>A PROTESTOR HOLDS a sign that reads,\u00a0 \u201cStop ICE abductions and release detainees\u201d at the \u201cNo Kings\u201d day rally in Midtown Manhattan on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.Photo by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n
Five leading child advocacy organizations have filed an amicus brief in federal court supporting a Bronx teen from Ecuador who is currently being held by the United States Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). His case was heard at a White Plains federal court on Monday, Nov. 17. We\u2019ve reached out to the advocates for an update on the latest court proceedings and will share any updates we receive.<\/p>\n
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Established as a part of the Refugee Act of 1980, ORR initially supported refugees, asylees, unaccompanied refugee minors, and Cuban and Haitian entrants. However, over time, as designated by Congress, ORR\u2019s mission grew to serve many different populations from around the world.<\/p>\n
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In 2003, Congress expanded ORR\u2019s role to serve\u00a0unaccompanied alien children<\/a>. Through the Unaccompanied Alien Children Bureau, ORR provides for the care and custody of unaccompanied alien children who enter the United States from other countries without an adult guardian. ORR is legally required to provide for their care until they are placed with a vetted sponsor, usually a parent or relative, while their immigration cases proceed.<\/p>\n ORR also offers\u00a0longer-term resettlement benefits and services<\/a> to support arrivals\u2019 successful transition to life in the U.S.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n An amicus brief is a legal document submitted by a third party who is not involved in a lawsuit but has a strong interest in the case\u2019s outcome. These \u201cfriend of the court\u201d briefs typically provide additional legal arguments, and technical information or perspectives to help the court make a decision on a matter before it.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n On October 23<\/a>, according to advocates for the student, immigration officers detained the 16-year-old during a scheduled immigration check-in at 26 Federal Plaza, which he attended with his lawyer. They said he had been living in the Bronx with extended family following his mother\u2019s decision to self-deport earlier this year.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The New\u00a0York public high school student, an 11th grade English language learner, had previously been granted \u201cSpecial Immigrant Juvenile\u201d status by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in April, which provides a path to permanent residency.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n EJCC v. Joyce, submitted by Children\u2019s Defense Fund, the Kairos Center for Religion, Rights, and Social Justice, EdTrust\u2013New\u00a0York, the\u00a0Young Center for Immigrant Children\u2019s Rights, and\u00a0Children\u2019s Rights, urges the U.S.\u00a0District\u00a0Court for the\u00a0Southern\u00a0District\u00a0of\u00a0New\u00a0York to grant the teen\u2019s request for release from an ORR congregate care facility in The Bronx without restrictions on his liberty.<\/p>\n Attorneys Katherine Rosenfeld and Nick Bourland of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP filed the brief on behalf of the five organizations (\u201cthe amici\u201d).<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe amici\u201d are united by a shared goal which is to promote the welfare and safety of children and youth affected by immigration detention. Their work focuses on protecting minors from the serious harms of detention and safeguarding their educational rights. They include Children\u2019s Defense Fund<\/a>, the\u00a0Kairos Center<\/a>\u00a0for Religion, Rights, and Social Justice,\u00a0EdTrust\u2013New\u00a0York<\/a>, the\u00a0Young Center<\/a>\u00a0for Immigrant Children\u2019s Rights, and\u00a0Children\u2019s Rights<\/a>.<\/p>\n The amicus brief and the teen\u2019s attorneys, The Door\u2019s Legal Services Center and the\u00a0New\u00a0York Civil Liberties Union, argue that the student\u2019s unnecessary detention threatens to harm his mental health and education.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n They said the teen is currently enrolled in classes at ReStart Academy, an alternative education program that partners with ORR. According to the academy\u2019s website<\/a>, it serves \u201cthe most vulnerable students\u201d that \u201chave become disengaged from school.\u201d However, before his detention, they said the teen was performing at grade level, actively participating in school, and on track to graduate on time.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The organizations that filed the brief argue that, given his strong academic record, placing him in an alternative education program is inappropriate for his learning needs. \u201cWhen children and young people are detained, including in ORR congregate facilities, and separated from their communities and schools, empirical research shows that such detention is deeply traumatizing and has long-term negative impacts on brain development and on that child\u2019s trajectory through life,\u201d the brief reads.<\/p>\n The five organizations share a common goal of promoting the welfare and safety of children affected by immigration detention say they bring decades of experience advocating for youth in these settings, and added that the purpose of the brief is to provide the court with accurate information about the harms suffered by detained children, including those held in ORR facilities.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n They said that in a March letter<\/a>\u00a0to the Trump administration, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other national medical organizations concluded that \u201ceven short periods of detention can cause psychological trauma and long-term mental health risks\u201d for children.<\/p>\n Children\u2019s Defense Fund-New\u00a0York Director Khin Mai Aung said, \u201cImmigration detention is no place for children and youth. EJCC\u2019s detention is especially harmful, as he is missing out on a critical part of junior year despite performing at grade level, and should be at home attending his community high school.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Children\u2019s Rights Deputy Litigation Director Leecia Welch, said, \u201cChildren torn from their parents and communities and confined in isolating, dehumanizing facilities endure unspeakable trauma. The confinement of EJCC, who has a loving home waiting for him, is particularly cruel and must come to an end. Every\u00a0minute children spend in these institutions is a minute too long, stealing vital time from their lives and futures.\u201d<\/p>\n As Northwest Bronx Indivisible and some independent supporters recently participated in the \u201cNo Kings\u201d Day rally in Midtown Manhattan on Oct. 18, in part protest at the handling of immigration policy by the Trump administration.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Daniel Guenzburger, one of the members spoke to Norwood News about the group\u2019s opposition to deporting immigrants without due process and their active support for another young Bronx detained local student and immigrant, Dylan<\/a>, a Marble Hill high school student<\/a>\u00a0at ELLIS Preparatory Academy who was taken into custody by law enforcement in May and held, as\u00a0reported,<\/a>\u00a0despite public outcry.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Another female member of the group had also talked about the importance of solidarity with Dylan, saying, \u201cDylan, himself, continues to sit in that GO center in Moshannon in Pennsylvania. He\u2019s in detention, dispirited, and I know that we are giving him heart with the kind of thing we\u2019re doing for him today.\u201d For more on Dylan\u2019s situation, click here<\/a>, here<\/a> and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some protestors at the No Kings Day rally in Manhattan alleged the Trump administration quota for immigrants was getting smaller, compounding the difficulty for those applying for a visa.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n See attached graph further below of immigration numbers under different administrations since 1850. It had been widely reported at one point that more deportations<\/a>\u00a0took place under the Obama administration than under the first Trump administration though this may change by the end of the second Trump administration. Click here<\/a> for some further analysis of the topic.<\/p>\n As reported<\/a>, the president, by way of another executive order, recently cracked down on future H1B visa applications, visas typically obtained by \u201calien nonimmigrant workers\u201d sponsored by an employer in a niche industry sector like, for example, healthcare.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/a>A PROTESTOR HOLDS a sign that reads \u201cImmigration is American\u201d at the \u201cNo Kings\u201d day rally in Midtown Manhattan on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Photo by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n<\/a>A PRIEST IS seen at the \u201cNo Kings\u201d day rally in Midtown Manhattan on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Photo by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n<\/a>A PROTESTOR DRESSED as the Statue of Liberty holds a sign that reads, \u201cI stand for justice and immigrant rights,\u201d at the \u201cNo Kings\u201d day rally in Midtown Manhattan on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Photo by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n<\/a>A PROTESTOR HOLDS a sign that reads, \u201cFight Ignorance, Not Immigrants,\u201d at the \u201cNo Kings\u201d day rally in Midtown Manhattan on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Photo by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n<\/a>A PROTESTOR HOLDS a sign that reads, \u201cDue Process isn\u2019t just for White People\u201d at the \u201cNo Kings\u201d day rally in Midtown Manhattan on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Photo by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n<\/a>A YOUNG PROTESTOR holds a sign that reads, \u201cSun is our best friend, Melt ICE,\u201d at the \u201cNo Kings\u201d day rally in Midtown Manhattan on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025.
Photo by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n<\/a>MEMBERS OF NORTHWEST Bronx Indivisible gather in Kingsbridge by the 231st Street station and Broadway before making their way from the Bronx downtown on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025 to join the 2nd \u201cNo Kings Day\u201d rally.\u00a0\u00a0
Photo by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n<\/a>U.S. IMMIGRANT POPULATION and share over time, 1850-Present Day\u00a0\u00a0
Source: migrationpolicy.org<\/p>\n