Queens high school student detained by ICE to be released from Texas facility

A Queens high schooler held in a Texas immigration detention center since early June is expected to be released in the coming days, according to attorneys with the New York Legal Assistance Group.

Derlis Snaider Chusin Toaquiza, 19, was in 11th grade at Grover Cleveland High School in Ridgewood when he was detained on June 4 after attending a mandatory immigration hearing at the federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan.

Toaquiza and his family are from Ecuador and arrived in the U.S. in March 2024. His parents applied for asylum, citing the discrimination they faced as members of an Indigenous tribe.

The reasons for Toaquiza’s detention remain unclear. He attended the hearing with his mother, who had a separate case and was not detained.

He was the second New York City public school student detained by federal immigration authorities this spring.

Another high school student, Dylan, 20, from Venezuela, was also picked up after appearing voluntarily at an immigration hearing and remains in detention in Pennsylvania.

Toaquiza had recently tried out for the varsity soccer team, was studying for his Regents exams and training to become a lifeguard when he was taken into custody and transferred to Texas.

His attorneys said he spent days in an overcrowded holding room at 26 Federal Plaza, where he had to sleep sitting up and was only given one meal a day, before being sent to a facility in Livingston, Texas.

A Texas immigration judge was expected to grant Toaquiza release on a $20,000 bond, which will be paid by the Envision Freedom Fund – formerly the Brooklyn Community Bail Fund. The group is also arranging for his return to New York.

“We are beyond thrilled that Derlis will soon be returning home to New York to be with his family where he belongs,” said Rebecca Rubin, senior staff attorney for New York Legal Assistance Group. “At the same time, our happiness does not erase the fact that Derlis was unjustly detained at his immigration court hearing, torn away from his family and community, and detained in a prison with adult male strangers for over a month.”

Federal officials have denied allegations of overcrowding or mistreatment at 26 Federal Plaza.

“Any claim that there is overcrowding or subprime conditions is categorically false,” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement.

The Adams administration filed an amicus brief supporting Toaquiza’s release, arguing that detaining students at immigration court undermines public safety. His principal also wrote in his defense.

“Derlis is a kind, respectful and dedicated young man,” Grover Cleveland High School Principal Marc Pascente wrote in a letter to immigration officials. “His unexpected removal has caused significant disruption to his learning and has had a deep emotional impact on his classmates and our entire school community…. He belongs with his family and classmates, where he can continue learning and growing.”