A Connecticut high school student arrested by ICE and held in detention for more than a month is coming home, his attorney said Friday, after a judge ruled in his favor.
The 18-year-old Wilbur Cross student, Esdrás Zabaleta-Ramirez, was arrested July 21 by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents while at work at a car wash in Southington. He was sent to detention centers in Massachusetts, then New Hampshire, then Louisiana for expedited removal — immediate deportation without due process. His deportation flight to Guatemala was canceled at the last minute and he has since been held in Massachusetts.
But in a hearing Thursday, a federal immigration judge ruled that he would be released on a $1,500 bond. The Department of Homeland Security did not move to appeal. Zabaleta-Ramirez is expected to be released in the next day or so, his attorney, Tina Colón Williams, told a gathering of supporters Friday in New Haven.
The overwhelming support of the New Haven community, including from Mayor Justin Elicker and city alders, and teachers, students and administrators from his school, made the difference in preventing Zabaleta-Ramirez from being deported and in convincing the judge to release him, Colón Williams said.
“We got to see a city rallying around someone to say that we care. It’s something really beautiful to witness but there’s also so much that’s heartbreaking about this whole thing,” she said. “Specifically the fact that his release had to take as long as it did and the fact that his release is the exception and not the rule. Right now we are in an era of expansive detention for noncitizens all across the country … young people, old people, parents of young children.”
Colón Williams, whose Esperanza Law handles immigration cases, became emotional describing the way ICE currently operates in the U.S. and the impact on those caught up in it.
“The pain of what is happening is severe. Families across this country whose family members are being detained and not released are suffering and inside that facility it is a prison. ICE has taken a posture that they are not releasing people from custody so we knew it could be an uphill battle,” she said.
The judge granted release on the lowest possible bond, she said, in part due to community support. Elicker and members of the board of alders joined the hearing.
“Upon release from detention he will be able to go through ongoing removal proceedings outside the context of a jail, outside of a prison. It’s a long road but we are committed to standing with him, rallying around him until the end,” she said.
Colón Williams urged people to be aware, to “take stock of the human cost of” President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and to explain what is happening to those who may be in support of increased immigration enforcement.
Elicker said the powerful show of support was a proud moment for New Haven.
“There have been many difficult but proud moments over these past few months when New Haven has stepped up and continued to reaffirm our values as a welcoming city. No matter who you are, where you come from, if you want to be a productive member of our community, you are welcome in our community,” he said.
New Haven Schools Superintendent Dr. Madeline Negron also expressed her gratitude to those who joined the fight to bring Zabaleta-Ramirez home and back to school.
“We are a city that we don’t just talk about being a welcoming city, we show people what that means and if one of us is in trouble, we don’t just sit back — luchamos — we rise up. … That’s what we did. I hope that everyone who is seeing the injustices that are happening as it relates to immigration that you can see in New Haven an example of the work that we have to do in this country. We have to work together and we have to fight because what is happening is an injustice,” she said.
Cris Mendoza, a Wilbur Cross High School teacher, spoke about “Esdrás, one of my beloved students.”
“By now you’re heard about his humble nature, his work ethic, his academic achievements and that’s all true however … while we will fight for Esdrás because we love him and we miss him, we would do the exact same thing for any and every student. We want to reiterate to our kids that in this climate of fear you are safe with us. We will do everything we can to support your education and your right to live in peace and safety with your loved ones,” she said.
“To be sure, Esdrás is an extraordinary young man but people shouldn’t have to be extraordinary in order to access due process or to be treated with basic human decency.”
He was lucky as well, as a member of Connecticut Students For a Dream, to know officials and a network of people who could fight on his behalf. But, she said, people shouldn’t have to know people to be treated fairly.
“We teachers are relieved … but we are also furious. While tax dollars fund the wasteful, ugly and antidemocratic systems that put kids like Esdras behind bars and split up loving families, we in the public schools are tasked with mitigating all that harm. We intend to clean up the mess after the trauma and somehow make learning and joy and hope possible for every child. This is difficult work and all the more difficult because we know it doesn’t have to be this way.”
