Detroit high school student faces deportation after detained by CBP
An 18-year-old Detroit high school student was just 3.5 credits away from graduating from Western International High School in Detroit when he was arrested on May 20 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and now his future is very uncertain.
"Tomorrow (Tuesday, June 10) is the final day of school for most Detroit public schools. It's a day when many of those students are celebrating completing a year and some students are graduating and some students are looking forward to the summer. He may be on a plane back to Colombia," said Ruby Robinson, senior managing attorney with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center.
Maykol Bogoya-Duarte was on his way to Lake Erie Metropark with three classmates on a school field trip on May 20 when Rockwood police pulled him over.
"The officer had trouble communicating with him in English, and so instead of utilizing an interpretation resource, that local officer called the Border Patrol," Robinson told CBS News Detroit.
The 18-year-old was then taken to Chippewa County Correctional Facility in the UP, where he now faces an imminent risk of deportation, according to his attorney.
In a statement, a CBP spokesperson said, "Local police pulled over the vehicle and found the driver had no license—only a City of Detroit ID. Border Patrol confirmed he was in the country illegally, having ignored a judge's removal order and lost his appeal."
Bogoya Duarte and his mother entered the United States in 2022 seeking protection together. According to Robinson, they were unsuccessful and have since been trying to depart the U.S. at their own expense.
Robinson is now asking for a temporary pause in Bogoya Duarte's deportation to finish his high school degree and then depart for Colombia at his own expense. All the while, his Mother is still in Detroit dealing with the unknown.
"She's just very worried, and also she is not sleeping; she is just so overwhelmed with sadness and fear and anxiety about her son's situation," said Robinson.
The MIRC is now urging community members to call ICE and ask them to grant Maykol a stay so he can finish his studies and graduate with his fellow students.
