An 18-year-old New Haven high school student who was slated to be deported to Guatemala on Thursday is set to be transferred to an immigration detention facility in New England instead, thanks to swift action from a local immigration attorney.
Tina Colón Williams of the Esperanza law firm said Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials canceled the plane ticket for her client, Esdras R. , while he was in detention in Louisiana on Wednesday.
"The fight is far from over. This pause on their plans to immediately remove him is just the first step in securing him access to a full legal process and a hearing for a judge to consider his release," Colón Williams said in an email to Connecticut Public. "Hopefully he'll be back up north soon, but we don't know the timeline for sure. In the meantime, the outpouring of community support has been incredible and inspiring to see."
The news comes just after 150 community members rallied in support of the teenager.
Esdras R. is a rising junior at Wilbur Cross High School. He played in the orchestra, and he advocated for health care for all, regardless of immigration status, on Connecticut’s biggest political stage.
“I helped Esdras build his testimony when talking about Husky 4 Immigrants’ campaign. I helped him write all of it,” said Melany Yunga, fellow CT Students for a Dream member. “When he wrote it, I know he felt inspired.”
Esdras’ testimony urged health care access for everyone in Connecticut, and it was submitted to the state legislature’s appropriations committee.
“He was the kind of person that just cared for everyone and wanted to fight for everyone,” Yunga said. “He just wanted the world to be fair and right. He wanted justice.”
Now, just months later, Esdras is being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In a statement, federal immigration officials confirmed to CT Public that Esdras was detained by ICE last week while working at a car wash in New Haven — something the Trump administration says is part of its immigration crackdown.
“Worksite enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to protect public safety, national security, and economic stability while rescuing individuals who may be victims of labor trafficking or exploitation,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in the statement.
Yunga said these tactics had been top of mind.
“He was worried when everything started. Everyone was worried. It was not just him,” Yunga said. “Every member of the organization was worried, and yeah, he lived in fear, just like almost everyone here … in Connecticut.”
CT Students for a Dream and its partner organizations have created a deportation defense fund to help with Esdras’ legal fees. Yunga and other members of the student-led organization also rallied at Esdras’ high school campus Wednesday to bring awareness to his case.
In addition to the students, teachers and faith leaders came and spoke to the crowd of more than 100 people in the high school parking lot. Rev. Josh Williams is the lead pastor at Elm City Vineyard Church.
“Looking at the scriptures that I believe in, that I care about, and seeing on the pages, it says, ‘Care for foreigners, and care for them as if they were citizen-born,’” Williams said.
Esdras first came to the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor from Guatemala during the Biden administration, according to ICE.
“We're talking about a high school junior. We have to have that sink in,” Williams said. “Do you remember what it's like to be a junior? What were your problems then? What were your worries? Was it being picked up by ICE and not knowing where you would be — that day, days later, almost a week later? Remember what it was like and have compassion. That's what we're asking for: common sense compassion.”
This story has been updated with information about Esdrás R.'s legal representation.
