NEW YORK, NY— A federal judge has ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to transfer a Guinean teenager from an adult detention center after nearly two months.
U.S. District Judge Marilyn J. Horan directed ICE on Thursday to place the teen, identified in court records as A.D., into the custody of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the Office of Refugee Resettlement, while the agency conducts a new review of his age— first reported by the City Reporter.
The ruling follows weeks of legal challenges from A.D.'s attorneys, who argue the 17-year-old has remained in an adult detention facility because of a clerical error despite multiple government and court records identifying him as a minor.
Arrested in mid-May, A.D. spent nearly two months at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania, where he turned 17 while in ICE custody, according to court filings.
"We are pleased the Court has recognized the irreparable harm our client will continue to suffer at Moshannon Valley Processing Center," Tania Cohen, legal director of the Safe Passage Project, said in a statement. "This is a child who has been detained in an adult carceral facility for almost two months."
The dispute centers on conflicting documents.
According to court filings, a secondary school entrance exam from Guinea incorrectly listed A.D.'s birth year as 2000, making him 26 at the time of his arrest.
His attorneys submitted a passport, a Guinean birth certificate, New York Family Court records and federal Health and Human Services records showing he entered the United States in 2023.
Each identifies his birth year as 2009, making him 16 when ICE arrested him and 17 during his detention.
His attorneys argued ICE relied on the incorrect school document while disregarding multiple official records.
"ICE mistakenly believes he is over 18 years old despite federal and state documents to the contrary," attorneys wrote in a habeas corpus petition filed the day of his arrest. "His detention in adult ICE detention contravenes federal law and is endangering his physical and mental wellbeing."
ICE has disputed that claim.
In June, an agency spokesperson said A.D. "is NOT a minor."
The agency also said dental X-rays conducted June 17 supported its determination that he is an adult and argued in court filings that his passport and other identification documents from Guinea were forged.
"He is a 26-year-old criminal illegal alien from Guinea with multiple arrests for robbery, assault and possession of a weapon," an ICE spokesperson said.
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment following Judge Horan's latest order.
A.D. had been living in foster care on Long Island under the supervision of New York City's Administration for Children's Services.
Suffolk County police arrested him in May in connection with an alleged attempted assault that investigators said occurred months earlier.
Officers transferred him to ICE custody several hours later, according to court filings.
His attorneys immediately filed a federal habeas corpus petition seeking his release, arguing ICE had detained a child in an adult facility.
Instead, ICE transferred him to Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania.
Federal law generally requires immigrant children without parents or legal guardians to be placed in the Office of Refugee Resettlement rather than adult immigration detention facilities.
Judge Horan previously instructed ICE to separate A.D. from adult detainees while officials verified his age.
Court records show ICE later moved him to a medical unit, where his attorneys argued he spent weeks under conditions resembling solitary confinement.
In Thursday's ruling, Horan ordered ICE to transfer A.D. into Health and Human Services custody while the agency conducts another review of his age.
The judge instructed ICE to consider "the totality of the circumstances," including testimony from family members and New York Family Court records.
Court filings describe a series of events that began after A.D. fled Guinea in late 2023.
His attorneys said local police threatened his family because they are members of the Fulani ethnic group.
After arriving in the United States, the Office of Refugee Resettlement placed him with an older brother in Queens.
The lawsuit alleges the brother repeatedly abused him.
After one assault, during which the brother allegedly beat and strangled him until he vomited, A.D. escaped through a window and ran to a nearby school.
Police took him to a hospital before placing him in a children's shelter.
He left the shelter the following day and eventually arrived in Times Square.
"He had no money and no phone, but was amazed by how beautiful Manhattan was," attorney Maria Possidente wrote in court filings.
There, he met other migrants from Guinea and began staying in adult shelters.
According to his attorneys, he later visited the federal immigration offices at 26 Federal Plaza carrying his passport, birth certificate, Health and Human Services paperwork and the school document containing the incorrect birth year.
Because he spoke little English and wanted to remain with friends staying in an adult shelter, A.D. pointed to the school record during the meeting, telling immigration officials, "my passport is not good, and this paper is good," according to court filings.
ICE later issued immigration documents listing his birth year as 2000.
Court filings describe a sharp decline in A.D.'s mental health after his transfer to Pennsylvania.
Incident reports filed in federal court say staff placed him in what they described as a "suicide cell."
One report alleges A.D. covered a security camera with feces before breaking it.
Officials later suspended his access to phones and tablets for two weeks.
"They are locking me in here for no reason," A.D. told an officer, according to an incident report. "They are treating me like an animal."
Sign up for free local newsletters and alerts for the
New York City, NY Patch
Patch.com is the nationwide leader in hyperlocal news.
Visit Patch.com to find your town today.