Deportation of 6-year-old student sparks uproar in New York over ICE tactics

NEW YORK − A 6-year-old student and her family were deported just before the start of the new school year in New York, a case sparking uproar across the state − including from the governor and officials in the nation’s largest public school system.

The second-grade New York City public school student went with her mother and older brother on Aug. 12 to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement check-in at a federal building in lower Manhattan when agents detained them, a family lawyer told USA TODAY. New York City officials confirmed the student and her mother, who were living in Queens, were deported the morning of Aug. 19.

The Ecuadorian family, who sought asylum in the country after arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border in December 2022, were among migrants detained in controversial tactics by the Trump administration while people attend routine immigration court hearings or ICE check-ins.

New York City schools saw increased enrollment driven, in part, by families who had sought asylum during the Biden administration. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul weighed in on the family’s behalf, and school officials are working to assure students that schools will remain a welcoming place.

“She had no power to decide which country she would be living,” said Astrid Avedissian, a lawyer for one of the student’s siblings, who is 16. “She had no power to decide which border she would be crossing.”