After nearly a month in federal custody, a Bronx high school junior who was detained during a routine immigration check-in is set to be released, his lawyers announced Monday.
Joel Camas, a 16-year-old junior at Gotham Collaborative High School, was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Oct. 23 despite having approved Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and a pending pathway to permanent residency, according to court filings.
His attorneys from the New York Civil Liberties Union and The Door’s Legal Services Center said he was complying with all government requirements when he appeared with counsel for the mandatory appointment at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan.
Instead, officers directed him to the New York Varick Immigration Court, detained him without notice, and transferred him the same day to an Office of Refugee Resettlement facility in the Bronx, his lawyers said. A federal judge later stayed his removal order as part of a habeas petition, but he remained in custody.
Joel arrived in New York from Ecuador in late 2022 with his mother and has been living with relatives since then. He began the Family Court process in May 2024 after his father abandoned him. That December, a Bronx Family Court judge ruled it was not in his best interest to return to Ecuador and that he should remain in the United States to receive the protections available to him as a vulnerable youth, according to his attorneys.
His detention came roughly a month after his mother, Elvia Chafla, attended her own ICE check-in while under an order of supervision. She had been enrolled in the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program and wearing an ankle monitor since July 2025, complying with all reporting requirements.
At her Sept. 22 appointment, ICE officials informed her that Joel would need to appear the following month. Believing her voluntary departure would help secure her son’s immigration status, she returned to Ecuador on Sept. 27.
Last week, City Hall filed an amicus brief supporting Joel’s release from custody, arguing that detaining a public school student jeopardizes his education and destabilizes local schools. The city noted his strong academic record, his involvement in school programs and The Door’s youth services network, and said immigrant students must be able to attend school without fear of interruption.
On Monday, Nov. 17, U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel ordered that Joel be “immediately” released from the ORR facility and into the custody of a relative.
Joel’s lawyers called ICE’s actions unlawful and said the agency arrested a child who already had legal protections, then attempted to deport him rapidly.
“While it’s a huge relief that Joel can finally go home, ICE should have never detained him in the first place,” said Elizabeth Gyori, senior staff attorney at the NYCLU. “By arresting a child with legal status at a routine check-in, ICE acted with brazen cruelty, broke U.S. law, and violated the Constitution.”
Joel is expected to return to his family, friends, and school community in the Bronx in the coming days.
Beth Baltimore, deputy director of The Door’s Legal Services Center, said the court recognized the severity of the government’s actions.
“I am thrilled that after weeks of unnecessary detention, Joel can return to his family and community,” she said. “The court recognized that what the government did to Joel was extraordinary.”
The lawyers say the teen’s case is part of a broader pattern, citing HHS data showing that roughly 2,000 children have been held in Office of Refugee Resettlement custody since President Trump took office.
Volunteers who accompany immigrants to routine ICE appointments at 26 Federal Plaza say detentions are now occurring out of view of the press, sometimes in groups and occasionally before individuals even reach the check-in desk.
