The arrest of 16-year-old Joel Camas, an Ecuadorian immigrant and high school student in the Bronx, has caused a lot of anger in the public and made the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) make a rare public statement to clear things up.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took Camas, an 11th grader at Gotham Collaborative High School, into custody during a scheduled check-in last week, even though he had been given Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS). His lawyer and New York City Comptroller Brad Lander went with him to the check-in.
The Bronx Teen’s Background and Immigration Status
Camas and his mother, Elvia Chafla, first came to the U.S. to escape gang violence in Ecuador.
Failed Asylum: Their asylum request was turned down, and an immigration judge ordered them to leave the country in February 2024.
Mother’s Departure: Camas’s mother just went back to Ecuador to avoid being arrested after the removal order.
SIJS Protection: Even though there was an order to remove Camas, a family court in April gave her protection. This is an important step in getting SIJS, which is a status that helps abused, abandoned, or neglected children get a legal method to stay in the country permanently.
Comptroller Brad Lander swiftly made the matter known across the country. He said in an X post, “He has Special Immigrant Juvenile Status—it should have been fine.” But it wasn’t. Lander said that Camas is a “model student” who likes soccer and pepperoni pizza. He also said that his incarceration might be the first time an unaccompanied juvenile has been detained by the current government.
Legal Action and Mother’s Request
After Camas was arrested, her legal team, which included Beth Baltimore from The Door, filed a Habeas petition with the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU). The petition asks for Camas’s immediate release and the revocation of the removal order. It says that keeping him in jail stops him from going to school and continuing his path to becoming a lawful permanent resident.
Elvia Chafla, Camas’s mother, said she was worried about his safety if he was deported: “What is going to happen to my son?” There’s a lot of violence here right now, and I don’t want him to come back to that.
DHS Tells the “REAL Story”
As activists, legal groups, and politicians became more and more critical and worried, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) put out a direct and politically charged counter-narrative on X.
The DHS said they had the “REAL story” and that Joel Camas and his mother’s last orders to leave were made on February 28, 2024, “under the BIDEN ADMINISTRATION.”
The department’s statement ended by verifying that the mother left on her own and hinting that the teen’s incarceration would end well: “His mother self-deported to Ecuador and Camas stayed in the USA alone as a minor.” Mr. Camas will be able to see his family again, which is good.