City of New York Takes Action to Support Public School Student Who Was Arrested After Attending Routine Immigration Hearing

June 2, 2025

Amicus Brief Outlines That City is Less Safe When Immigrants are Afraid to Access Basic Services and Attend Court Hearings 

Student Had Previously Accessed City’s Asylum Application Help Center to Apply for Asylum, Work Authorization, and TPS

NEW YORK – The City of New York today took action in support of Dylan Lopez Contreras, a New York City Public Schools student who was arrested in a Manhattan courthouse on May 21, 2025 after attending a mandatory, routine immigration hearing by filing an amicus brief in the case of Dylan Lopez Contreras v. Leonard Oddo, in his official capacity as the facility administrator of the Moshannon Valley Processing Center; Brian Mcshane, in his official capacity as acting Philadelphia field office director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Todd Lyons, in his official capacity as acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and Kristi Noem, in her official capacity as secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; as well as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Contreras, a student at Ellis Prep High School in the Bronx, has no criminal history and is pursuing a pathway to a green card. Aside from attending a New York City public school, he had also previously accessed the city’s Asylum Application Help Center multiple times, which helps new arrivals apply for asylum, work authorization, and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) as they take the necessary steps toward becoming self-sufficient.

The brief — filed in the Western District of Pennsylvania,  where Contreras is being held despite living in New York City — argues that he is being detained without cause and in violation of his right to due process. The filing makes clear that the city is less safe when immigrants are afraid of accessing basic services and attending immigration court hearings. The filing also outlines the important contributions that immigrants have long had on New York City, specifically on its cultural fabric, economic growth, and overall prosperity.

“Keeping New Yorkers safe has always been our top priority, and our city is less safe when people are afraid to use public resources and are, instead, forced to hide in the shadows,” said Mayor Adams. “Dylan Lopez Contreras was going through the exact legal proceeding that we encourage new arrivals to go through in order to be able to work and provide for their families — and even accessed the center that we created for migrants to be able to avoid city shelters and become independent. But instead of being rewarded for following the law, he was punished for doing what we all asked him to do. For generations, New York City has been defined by its diverse immigrant communities, and we are sending a message to those communities: We stand with you, and you deserve to live your lives freely.”

“Free access to courts is a pillar of the rule of law,” said New York City Corporation Counsel Muriel Goode-Trufant. “As detailed in our amicus brief, tactics like those used to detain Dylan Lopez Contreras create a culture of fear around all manner of court proceedings that depend on cooperation from members of the public and undermine the public trust. Justice requires, and the city fully supports, Dylan’s release.”

“In a city built on immigrants, Dylan is one of the many who have shaped our community and detaining him is not just a legal injustice — it's a moral one,” said New York City Public Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos. “I, along with my colleagues across the Adams administration, are standing up for what's right, and we want to be clear to all New Yorkers: our public resources are accessible and safe for all of us, whether you were born here or elsewhere. In our public schools, we do not track immigration status, and our schools remain safe spaces for all of our students.”

“New York City is taking this step because we believe every immigrant deserves due process and should be treated with dignity and respect, not in ways that create fear or discourage people from seeking critical and often life-saving city services,” said Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Manuel Castro. “Our immigration system has been broken for decades. That is why we have called for meaningful reform since the start of our administration, so immigrant New Yorkers can live, work, and continue to contribute to our city. This is especially urgent for the young people in our public schools, who are growing up as part of the city's fabric. We need real pathways to legal status and work authorization so our neighbors can remain an essential part of New York City’s future.”

The amicus brief lays out the immigrant community’s — including those who are undocumented — vast contributions to the City of New York. New York City is home to more than 3 million immigrants, comprising nearly 40 percent of the city’s population. Contreras is reportedly one of more than a dozen people led to believe that their immigration cases were being favorably resolved and then arrested either in or outside an immigration courthouse in Manhattan, a stone’s throw away from a federal district court, state criminal and civil courts, local criminal, housing, and family courts, and other courthouses. As the brief makes clear, these tactics risk driving underground those otherwise inclined to follow the country’s immigration laws, undermining the very system that those laws are designed to serve.

Further, in the brief, the city argues that the judicial system itself will suffer if residents fear that simply appearing in court to protect their rights or the rights of others could expose them to detention and removal.