NJ High School Student Taken By ICE While Doing Laundry Released

MORRISTOWN, NJ — After spending days in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center, Morristown High School student Juan Daniel Mendoza has been released.

U.S. District Judge Evelyn Padin found that his arrest was “unlawful” and ordered his release on Thursday afternoon.

Mendoza was one of eleven people rounded up in Morristown on Sunday near Speedwell Avenue. The 18-year-old was doing his laundry at a laundromat when federal agents swarmed the area and placed him under arrest.

Read More: High School Student Doing Laundry Among Those Detained In Morris Co. ICE Raid

Following Mendoza’s arrest, community members launched a GoFundMe to help pay for an attorney to help Mendoza. The fundraiser garnered more than $90,000.

“JUAN IS HOME,” a GoFundMe update read. “The District Judge ordered his immediate release this afternoon! We are taking this moment to thank you for your support, prayers and donations. It took a community to bring him home. We will continue to fight injustice and stand up for our neighbors.”

Mendoza is represented by Ryan M. Magee of the McCarter and English law firm in Newark. Magee would not comment on Mendoza’s case as of Friday morning.

Check back with Patch for updates on Mendoza’s case.

Meanwhile, Morris County residents are still seeking support to help other people who were detained by ICE , including Harol Alvarado, who was taken in East Hanover in December.