Wilbur Cross Student Detained By ICE

by Staff | Oct 15, 2019 7:57 pm

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Posted to: Immigrants, Legal Writes

New Haven is rallying around an 18-year-old Wilbur Cross junior snapped up by federal immigration authorities and locked up in a Massachusetts detention center. A rally is planned for Friday on behalf of the student, Mario Aguilar Castañon. After Tuesday night’s Board of Education meeting, officials also pledged to help prevent his forced return to Guatemala. “I think it’s outrageous,” Mayor Toni Harp said. “Somehow we’ll get him back.” Acting Superintendent Iline Tracey said she has been in contact with Edith Johnson, the principal at Cross, where students have been concerned for weeks about the case. “As a community, we’ll put our arms around him, becauase he’s one of our own,” said Board of Education President Darnell Goldson. Friday’s rally, organized by local immigrant rights advocate Kica Matos and a host of local organizations including the Connecticut Immigrant Rights Alliance (CIRA), the Connecticut Bail Fund, and Unidad Latina en Acción, will be in support of Mario Aguilar Castañon, a Wilbur Cross junior who, according to the rally’s organizers, was arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs and Enforcement (ICE) in September. According to a press release from Matos, Aguilar Castañon emigrated from Guatemala to the United States two years ago without permission after he refused to join a violent local gang, and was beaten and threatened because of that. He was arrested in August on alleged traffic violations including driving without a license. He was subsequently apprehended by ICE officers and detained at a center in Massachusetts after he voluntarily went to the Milford Courthouse to address the traffic charges, Matos wrote. “Since he has been in detention, Mario has continued to pursue his studies,” Matos wrote. “His teachers have been sending him class materials so that he can keep up with his school work. His case has already generated tremendous support from a cross section of New Haven residents, including Wilbur Cross students and educators, faith leaders, parent advocates, public officials, advocates and young people throughout the city who are outraged that this has happened to one of their peers.”



The rally will take place at 4 p.m. outside New Haven City Hall. Click here for more information, and read below for Matos’s full press release. Mario Aguilar Castañon is a junior at Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven. ICE arrested him in September, threw him in detention, and refused to set any bond. Today, instead of being in school pursuing his dream to be a scientist, this New Haven teenager is stuck in ICE detention with no access to resources, support, or instruction. Mario is originally from Guatemala. A violent local gang actively recruited Mario, and when he refused to join he was beaten and later threatened with death. Ultimately, Mario knew he would not survive much longer in Guatemala, so – having no other choice – he gathered his courage and made the long and dangerous journey to the United States on his own. When Mario arrived in the United States, almost two years ago, he moved in with an uncle just a year older than him, enrolled in Wilbur Cross High School, and quickly became a part of his New Haven community. When he is not in school, Mario can’t just be an average high-schooler. Instead, since the age of 16, he has had the responsibilities of an adult – to provide for himself and to pay the rent and to send money back to support his family in Guatemala. So, instead of video games and sports, Mario spends his free time working in the hopes that he can provide a better life for himself and his parents and siblings. In August, Mario was arrested after his cell phone slid off of his dashboard on the way home from work and he knocked into a parked car as he tried to pick it up, doing minor damage. Although no sobriety test was ever performed, the officer arrested him and accused him of driving under the influence. Weeks later, Mario went to the Milford Courthouse – of his own volition – to address those charges. As he was entering the courthouse, he was detained by ICE and taken away to a detention center in Massachusetts, where he still remains. After Mario was detained by ICE, his community responded quickly and forcefully – including the students, teachers and administrators in his school, hundreds of whom wrote postcards and letters to the immigration court on his behalf, asking that he be released from detention. He presented a comprehensive plan to the immigration court showing that he would never need to drive and would continue to live a productive life without posing any threat to the community. Unfortunately, the immigration judge ignored the clear evidence that Mario is a valued member of his community who will remain in New Haven, go to his immigration court proceedings, and not pose a threat to anyone. He decided that a single arrest – without a conviction – made him too dangerous to release, in spite of the fact that the Connecticut criminal justice system had already determined that releasing Mario would pose no danger to society. And he decided, in spite of hundreds of pages of evidence to the contrary, that Mario didn’t have ties to the community that would ensure his appearance at immigration court. Since he has been in detention, Mario has continued to pursue his studies. His teachers have been sending him class materials so that he can keep up with his school work. His case has already generated tremendous support from a cross section of New Haven residents, including Wilbur Cross students and educators, faith leaders, parent advocates, public officials, advocates and young people throughout the city who are outraged that this has happened to one of their peers.

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posted by: Chrisssy on October 15, 2019 9:04pm Feel bad for this kid. He seems to have being doing the right thing, working and going to school without any parents to help him. That’s a lot more than we can say for some of the kids that were born and raised here with having at least one parent to guide them. Rather than punish this kid he should be the poster child of what you can accomplish even without two parents and a house in the burbs. Lazy kids take note: this kid goes to school ,found a job, pays rent and sends money to his home country and he’s only been here two years without a father or mother. That leaves very little for American kids very little to complain about but I’m sure we will be reading an article about kids in New Haven not getting a fair education and how there are no jobs. Maybe take a lesson from this kid.

posted by: BevHills730 on October 15, 2019 11:48pm Absolutely heartbreaking. We all need to fight for Mario.

posted by: Urn Pendragon on October 16, 2019 8:07am We must rally around Mario & other people like him to protect them, give them an education, a pathway to citizenship & treat them like human beings. I sure hope that Harp is paying attention to what is unfolding, because this gives her the opportunity to sign an executive order making New Haven a sanctuary city, plus propose to the Alders a law that can be put into place to protect immigrants legally as a long-term solution. This could also be a chance to draft state legislation. HINT HINT! Take care & be well.

posted by: Samuel T. Ross-Lee on October 16, 2019 8:19am @Chrisssy, Using the tragic situation of one kid, who had to leave his home country to fend from himself in America, to chastise American students, who must fight for a quality education, is horribly tendentious and unnecessarily so. Before he was arrested and thrown into the Draconian Trump Cages, Mario was doing what he had to do to survive under unusual circumstances. The keyword here is “unusual.” Students in this country have every right to complain if their educational opportunities are subpar. Our students should not be discouraged from protesting bad school policies by someone attempting to take advantage of a horrible situation to score points against the unfortunate and the disadvantaged. In fact, American students should be applauded for standing up from themselves when they are wronged. Hopefully, doing so helps to embolden them to stand up for people like Mario. Please, don’t try to take that away from them. The Rev. Mr. Samuel T. Ross-Lee

posted by: wesunidad on October 16, 2019 8:32am First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me. Martin Niemoller

posted by: TheMadcap on October 16, 2019 9:01am It’s us, we are the monsters

posted by: Sabrina-in-NewHaven on October 16, 2019 9:05am I am so horrified that this happened. I will be at this rally and I hope to see others there. I am truly emotional over this. Our children take so much for granted and this young boy showed courage that most of us wish we had.

posted by: A_Republican Hey, I feel bad for the kid. if I were born in Guatemala, I’d probably want to come to America too. But a lot of people want to come to American, and many of them are obeying the law to do it the right way. This kid is breaking the law. He got two years of free education in the United States at the expense of the taxpayers of New Haven. That’s more than a lot of would-be immigrants who are respecting our laws and patiently waiting their turn in their home countries. When thsi kid goes back, he’ll have more skills than most of the people around him.

posted by: MagnetSchoolMom on October 16, 2019 10:34am I honestly do feel really bad for this student however he did come here illegally. Laws are laws and no one gets to decide which laws can and cannot be broken. Unfortunately, this kid has been through a lot, both from his home country and here. But laws are in place for a reason. :(

posted by: DRAD on October 16, 2019 11:02am @ A_Republican & @ Magnet School Mom Matthew 25:40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

posted by: BevHills730 on October 16, 2019 11:22am The callousness and cruelty of some who comment here still surprises me. Mothers who care about children don’t make the type of comments that are here. We have a president who has violated laws and committed human rights abuses to terrorize families and children. The notion that any of this has to do with law and order is beyond absurd. People who still support these deportation actions are simply advocates of state terror and enablers of authoritarianism. They are thugs.

posted by: Jill_the_Pill on October 16, 2019 11:48am >>>“Laws are laws and no one gets to decide which laws can and cannot be broken. . . . . But laws are in place for a reason.” That “reason” is sometimes the work of private prison lobbyists, hoping to drum up business for their detention centers. Cruel laws can be changed—- they are arbitrary human creations, not laws of physics.

posted by: Dorthula on October 16, 2019 11:51am A_Republican, really? Don’t be so smug. You know that if this young man was working for slave wages in some wealthy person’s home, or sharecropping on an industrial farm, or doing labor on palatial construction sites…. you and others would ‘wink’ because he’s serving your purposes (as for so long was and is the case for many). The unfair, hate-filled application of immigration law needs to end.

posted by: JohnTulin on October 16, 2019 12:36pm “Laws are laws” - shrugged many Germans…

posted by: A_Republican DRAD: Romans 13:1-2: “Obey the government, for God is the One who has put it there. There is no government anywhere that God has not placed in power. So those who refuse to obey the law of the land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow.” I’m not throwing out this quote to contradict you, but to make the point that life is complicated. An act of mercy may be called for in one situation and not in another. Jesus and His followers knew that and taught accordingly. In the quotation from Matthew you reference, Jesus is clearly calling his followers to pity and serve the less fortunate. I think it’s reasonable to say, as you clearly imply, that help to the downtrodden also includes taking mercy on those who have wronged us or violated the law of our country. However, it’s important to remember that actions often have multiple effects. Every time the government looks the other way and decides to stay a deportation for an illegal immigrant, it is simultaneously eroding the rule of law and our nation’s sovereignty. Our immigration laws are just (unlike, say, the Nuremberg laws in 1930’s Germany), because without them, we would not have a country. In short, to not enforce those immigration laws is to commit an injustice against the polity. Maybe this young man deserves a stay. Maybe not. I don’t know all the details. What I do know is that our country needs borders, and it needs immigration laws. If every case is an exception to the rule, the rule doesn’t exist.

posted by: Samuel T. Ross-Lee on October 16, 2019 3:14pm @ A_Republican, The Book of Romans was written neither by Jesus nor his followers. It was purportedly written by Paul, a Johnny-Come-Lately to “The Way,” (the precursor to Christianity) and a man whom Biblical Scholars are prone to say “never met a status quo that he didn’t like.” Thus, his comments about governments. In the Matthew text you reference, Jesus is not asking his followers to “pity” anyone. There is NO concept in Jesus’ teaching that is based on pity. Jesus taught love, even of one’s enemies. No one in America has a legitimate claim on this land other than descendants of the formerly enslaved and the indigenous people who were here before all others. Anyone else is just pontificating about stolen property, you have come to and been embraced on, to enjoy the wealth of the land that you do not own, and the wealth of a nation that you did not build. As we know from the study of history, the Law is often not about justice, but about power. Hence, though including in the Christian canon, Paul’s concept could not be further from the teaching of Jesus, as Jesus refused to embrace the love of power, but instead embraced the power of love. The Rev. Mr. Samuel T. Ross-Lee, Pastor

The Immanuel Missionary Baptist Church

New Haven, CT

posted by: A_Republican @Samuel T. Ross-Lee “As we know from the study of history, the Law is often not about justice, but about power.” True, but immigration law is just. America’s certainly is. It’s not about wielding power, it’s about defining and preserving the commonwealth. In truth, are about limiting power. By defining a border a country is acknowledging it does not have jurisdiction over the territory beyond. What is pity (charity) but a mechanism of love? The same can be said for all the virtues (“the greatest of which is love”). And I’m pretty sure St. Paul was a Christian. Even St. Peter submitted to him at the Council of Jerusalem.If you remove Paul from the New Testament, then you have to remove anything written by St. Luke, because he was a travelling companion of Paul. Therefore, the authority of Luke’s writing comes from the fact that he was a companion of Paul.

posted by: Samuel T. Ross-Lee on October 16, 2019 5:25pm @A_Republican, What makes the immigration law just, the fact that you like it? If the immigration law wished to approach being just, it would be targeted to more than Brown immigrants, and focus on the ones coming into this country from European countries, too. Pity is an emotion. In the Christian context, Love is an action. They are not in the same league, and again, Jesus did not ask us to pity anyone, ever. Yes, Paul was a Christian, but his writings were often not consistent with the message of Jesus. The credibility of Luke’s writings are not determined by Paul. Traveling companions do not give credibility to each other’s work. Where are you getting this stuff? I studied at both Harvard and Yale’s Divinity Schools. What’s your source of information? Rev. Ross-Lee

posted by: OhHum on October 16, 2019 5:47pm The story in the Independent neglected to report,

“In March 2018, Aguilar-Castanon was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol near the Southwest border, issued a Notice to Appear before an immigration judge and released. He failed to appear in immigration court.

“Aguilar-Castanon will remain in ICE custody at the Bristol County House of Correction, pending removal proceedings .” NBC news, CT

posted by: Atwater on October 16, 2019 9:51pm OhHum: Excellent point. The NHI ignored a crucial part of the story. This young man is only being detained because he failed to appear for his first hearing. It’s standard procedure. Also something NHI got wrong, he’s 18, not 16. This article is more hype than fact.

posted by: Fiat on October 17, 2019 12:14am I hope the lawyers working on this from a number of agencies work this out for him. In Connecticut, unlike a lot of other states, you do not need to be legally present in this country to obtain permission to drive. The DMV website has information in English and in Spanish for a drive only permit and driving license. No one needs to be driving a vehicle without a DL or insurance. I’ve helped dozens of people to get a drive only driving license. The majority of the driving schools know exactly what the procedure is and will assist you in getting your drive only permit - the written test is in something like 45 languages. The in car test does require you to understand basic commands in English, then you can change the permit to a drive only license. You cannot use this license for ID. And no, Connecticut does not share the information with government agencies.

posted by: DMH464 on October 17, 2019 7:16am First off, as sad as this young mans story is, so what. I’m not one to assume but I have a feeling that everyone that is crossing the border illegally, as this young man did, has a story. What makes his so special and why does he get to jump the line of those who came before him and for those who are doing it right Second, if you want to seek asylum you a are supposed to start that process in the next border country and go from there, which in his case would not have been the US, it would have been Mexico. Third, he was arrested on suspicion of DUI , which is pretty serious, after hitting a parked vehicle and there a number of reasons that a sobriety test was not performed such as hospital visit, refusal or the inability to preform. He could have also been under the influence of something other than alcohol, in which case a breathalyzer would not work. Sorry I’m not buying the cellphone excuse. Third, with all the issues that this city has going on IMO this is not an issue for the Mayor and need to mind her business. She is doing a bad enough job as is and needs to focus on fixing the issues in the city that she has caused. Kica Matos needs to start rallying up her squad and do something about the green, which is a disaster, being she is one of the proprietors. Lastly, those Draconian Trump Cages were actually built by the Deporter in Chief Obama. Those centers were built under his administration and are his legacy

posted by: wesunidad on October 17, 2019 7:28am I appreciate the issues that others mentioned around this case. What I don’t appreciate is that the “law enforcement” tactics, in general now, tend toward Gestapho tactics. Innocent people will also become victims because “they” want us to get the message. Be afraid. Be very afraid. It’s not just this case, most of the “round ups” in this country are not mentioned in the media. The border and immigration issue is the one that gets the most news coverage, but this kind of gathering up of “the other” - those we are supposed to fear goes on everyday in the United States. The fact is that U.S. strong arm tactics including union busting in places like Guatemala, Hondoures and El Salvador

are the root cause of what this young man is experiencing. Everyone knows the history of U.S. corporations (Coca Cola, McDonalds, etc.) who have gone to Central America thrown indigenous people off their land and away from their means of survival. It is no wonder that evil elements such as gangs have taken over. Why wouldn’t someone want to escape that? Let’s tell it like it is Americans. We have left poo-poo in several Central American (and in many other countries worldwide) countries and our cruel and evil policies are coming back to bite us in the behind.

posted by: BhuShu on October 17, 2019 7:53am Reading through some of these comments it’s shocking and disheartening to those who preface to own morality. Whether he arrived at 14 or 16, he was still a kid who probably supported his family there as well, arriving alone in a foreign country possibly not understanding our laws and being helped by a family member only one year older. iIn certain parts of Guatemala due to gang violence and government corruption if you show up in court you may never be seen again. He May have thought our system operates the same. To A. Republican and some of the others, can you even begin to imagine having fled a country after having your life threatened possibly without command of another language? Where is your humanism? Shame on you.

posted by: LookOut on October 17, 2019 8:28am thank you DMH464. As the facts come out, this story gets weaker. The questions remains “Are we a nation of laws?”

posted by: Samuel T. Ross-Lee on October 17, 2019 9:06am We should stop worrying about being a “nation of laws,” and start being a nation of JUSTICE.

posted by: Atwater on October 17, 2019 9:51am Why are so many people ignoring the facts of this case? He is not being detained for an illegal border crossing, but for a failure to appear for an immigration hearing. Argue all you want about US immigration policies, but this story is simple. This man was issued a summons to appear before an immigration court, he did not appear as he promised to do, a capias was issued and he is being detained until final disposition. Would any court allow a defendant out on bond when he’s already proven himself unable or unwilling to appear? The NHI and other media outlets have done a poor job reporting this story. The second to last paragraph in particular is not based on fact, the clear fact that this individual did not appear for his immigration court dates. It’s disappointing.

posted by: A_Republican @Rev Samuel Congrats on going to Harvard and Yale. People trusted Luke because he was a disciple of Paul. Just like people trusted Mark because he was a disciple of Peter. Paul wouldn’t be in the bible if the Church hadn’t believed his words were consistent with Jesus. So I guess my reference authority is the Church. I’ve already said why I think our laws are just. What would just immigration laws look like to you?

posted by: DMH464 on October 17, 2019 9:58am I have seen nations/countries without laws and if that’s what you want, enjoy. I’ll settle on being a nation of laws because IMO both SHOULD go hand in hand. Laws are in place so that justice can be handed out, do we have a perfect system, of course not but I rather be here than anyplace else. The US is far from perfect BUT WE ARE THE BEST THING GOING!!!! If we weren’t then why are people knocking down our front door to come here.

posted by: OhHum on October 17, 2019 9:59am @ Samuel T. Ross-Lee

The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings, capable of laws, where there is no law there is no freedom. JOHN LOCKE, Second Treatise of Government

posted by: A_Republican What is a country but a group of people within a geographic area who share a common interest? For a country’s laws to be just, they must first serve the needs of the people within. You seem to suggest that the laws ought to primarily serve foreigners who want to come here. In that case, the laws would be frustrating the purpose of a country. That is not justice.

posted by: Legal Immigrant on October 20, 2019 4:04pm Okay, so feeling bad for this child is one thing but letting him loose isn’t right! Law is Law and he isn’t a legal immigrant to be in this country to be doing what he is doing. I’d suggest everyone who is advocating for this man needs to start looking themselves into the mirror and ask yourself? What is the meaning of Immigration Laws?

posted by: wesunidad on October 20, 2019 7:38pm Legal Immigrant… You said the Law is the Law. Okay, I agree. Do you have a problem with those in our government who are receiving subpoenas and who ignore them?

The Law is the Law. But, not for people in the Trump administration (including) him who flaunt the law everyday, day in and day out. They thumb the Law, they have distain for the Law, they are Lawless and make up the laws they need to put forth their own agendas. W What about when Mitch McConnel blocked the Supreme Court appointment made by Obama? What about the Trump scheduling a G7 meeting at his Doral golf establishment. Is he within the Law? And, yet some little kid who is here illegally is a bad actor because he doesn’t obey the Law? Common!

posted by: Sabrina-in-NewHaven on October 23, 2019 11:21am How sad that some of you have inherited such a disdain for the human condition. How privileged are we that we can judge a young man for doing what all young people do all the time. But somehow you have criminalized him. Mario has more courage that you could ever hope for, @A_Republican. You have the empathy of a trap door spider. You are so typical. And how sad for you. To be so under educated and willfully ignorant in a country built in the spirit of killing the very people that Mario descends from. You probably are so proud of the immigrants that came before. However you forget that immigrants that came through Ellis Island were also coming to a country that was already built. Africans held captive worked the land, built the docks, laid roadways. And they worked along side the Chinese and Indians who came here to build the railroads and blast through mountains to expand this country. But perhaps you skipped school that day. Perhaps at your dinner table you haven’t been given the opportunity to celebrate the diversity of this country and its historical inheritance. @Chrisssy is right. Kids here need to take notice. People love to complain about how lazy this new generation is without taking responsibility for the fact that they raised them that way. I was at the rally. It should have double the crowd. But what I was glad to see was a group of teachers and students openly defiant to ICE and their targeting easy prey. And trust me, there are no students fighting for a better education. If that was happening, they would not be summarily left out of the workforce that is still struggle to find individuals qualified to me technical standards. The gall of you!! You are cowards. You don’t have the fortitude to fight for human rights or to see the humanity of one imperfect being. It must be nice to live in your world. How’s Peter Pan?

posted by: wesunidad on October 23, 2019 3:50pm Sabrina-in-New Haven…if Mario was the son of one of the “elites” how differently he would have been treated! It’s easy for stupid fools to attack those like Mario because he threatens their privileged, white arrogant world view. And, he threatens their spinelessness. To the rest of us, he inspires! I did not attend the rally, but I am so grateful that it was held and that there seems to be a lot of support for him. And, there should be because he is US. He is the victim of an evil policy and as Gary Winfield said and so so many others around the country have said, we need to get rid of ICE! Everyday, especially in the dark of night, ICE is crawling around peaceful neighborhoods waiting to pounce. If there is a fund to donate to for his release and getting him back to his studies I would like to know about it and to contribute to it. To those who throw around the term, “the law is the law” - but, of course they mean it’s not for the true evil doers like W., Cheney, Rumsfeld and Kissinger. They along with Stephen Miller the “brains” behind the evil policies coming out of this administration should go on trial along with Trump for their crimes against humanity. Note: If you are not a Native American, then you TOO are an immigrant. Thank you Sabrina-in-NewHaven for your eloquent, beautiful contribution to this conversation. You are who America truly is - a nation of compassion.

posted by: Sabrina-in-NewHaven on October 24, 2019 1:04pm @DMH464 I came back so I can get you together as well. Please note that your pithy comment “Lastly, those Draconian Trump Cages were actually built by the Deporter in Chief Obama. Those centers were built under his administration and are his legacy” is obviously pulled from Fox News. I mean so typical. You are typical. Typical sheep following the hype instead of the story. Americans don’t like to do deep dives. They love to feel like it’s all about them and that whatever they say on TV must be right. Let’s get a few facts together. BILL CLINTON enacted mandatory detention under HIS administration. Do you remember when he was president? No? Ok, well he did that was in 1996. And with that enactment the occupancy of detention centers grew. I could regale you with other facts about how Haitian refugees were treated by Reagan or about the Russian refugees that came here in the 80s and were given public assistance. But you’re not interested in that are you? I mean what do facts mean to you? Since you wanted to make this about Obama let’s do that. The detention centers he created were to keep families TOGETHER. But Orange Julius Twitter Fingers does not care about that. Oh and get this!! You are going to love this, @DMH464. Obama actually is known to deport more immigrants that any of his predecessors. <GASP> I bet you didn’t know that did you? What do you know besides what you see on TV? Read my friend. A book, a piece of legislation. If you are going to be commenting online for the world to see I will be here setting the record straight. I use my real name and not some moniker because I know what I’m talking about. I don’t know what makes me more angry. The fact that people think like you or the fact that you are complicit and ignorant to how our government really operates at the same time.You really this country is your inheritance and yours alone.The foundation of this nation runs in MY BLOOD. Hundreds of years in my veins say he stays.