Community Corner
Immigrant Teen Returns Home After Being Detained For Months
The 16-year-old living on Long Island says he was accused of having ties to MS-13 by officials, but has no connection to the deadly gang.
CENTRAL ISLIP, NY - A 16-year-old immigrant living in Central Islip recently returned home after months in custody for allegedly having ties to the MS-13 gang.
The unidentified teen, who had been in jail since June, was among a total of 13 Long Island boys released by a judge in Manhattan on Thursday after finding there was not significant evidence tying him to the gang, according to a report in ABC7.
"I feel happy because I'm with my mom again," he told ABC7. "And I've been given a new opportunity."
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The Central Islip High School student came to the U.S. alone from El Salvador in 2015, Newsday reports.
The teen told Newsday he was approached by immigration officers near his home while walking home from school. According to ABC7, he was picked up after getting into a fight at the high school.
Find out what's happening in Brentwood-Central Islipfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Read: MS-13: An Inside Look At The Brutal Gang And Its Insidious Spread On Long Island
The local teen was among a total of 45 New York residents arrested in June as part of Operation Matador.
According to a press release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), 33 Suffolk residents and 8 Nassau residents were arrested during the operation.
The arrested males were from El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, and Guatemala.
According to the release, the individuals were all confirmed gang members. They were confirmed to be gang members if they either "admit membership in a gang, have been convicted of violating a criminal gang statue or any other federal or state law criminalizing or imposing civil consequences for gang-related activity, or if they meet certain other criteria such as having tattoos identifying a specific gang or being identified as a gang member by a reliable source."
"Twelve individuals arrested during this operation crossed the border as unaccompanied minors, all of which were confirmed as MS-13 gang members," the release reads.
However the Central Islip teen claims he had no connection to the gang.
“It makes me feel bad. I was never a member of a gang. I would never do that,” he told Newsday.
Image via Shutterstock
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