Bronx Student Freed After 10 Months In ICE Custody

NEW YORK, NY— A Bronx high school student detained for nearly 10 months after an immigration hearing has been released from federal custody, his legal team said.

Dylan Contreras was taken into custody outside a scheduled hearing at 26 Federal Plaza in late May and held at Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania.

“We are overjoyed that Dylan is finally able to return home, where he should have been for the last nearly 10 months he’s spent unjustly detained,” Kate Fetrow, an attorney with New York Legal Assistance Group, said.

Attorneys said Contreras followed legal requirements before his arrest and spent months in detention while his case drew public attention.

“Nothing can undo the injustice of denying Dylan even a modicum of due process,” Fetrow said.

Melissa Chua, director of NYLAG’s Immigrant Protection Unit, said the case reflects broader concerns.

“As legal advocates, we know all too well just how many more people are still out there, remain unjustly detained,” Chua said.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer said Contreras “should have never been detained like this” and called for broader changes.

Contreras’ mother, Raiza Contreras, said, “Very soon, my son will be back with his siblings and me—it is both a relief and a blessing.”

City officials said Contreras will return to his community in the Bronx.

“What should have been a time for him to focus on finishing high school instead became ten long months of isolation,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.