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A Harlem activist appeared for a routine ICE check-in. Now, he faces deportation.
By
Arya Sundaram
Published Apr 2, 2025
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Courtesy of Kristina Sumfleth
By
Arya Sundaram
Published Apr 2, 2025
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Robert Panton, a formerly incarcerated community activist in Harlem, went in for a routine check-in with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents last month. He hasn’t been home since.
Panton, 59, whose community work has attracted wide notice, was taken into custody by ICE on March 25, who are now trying to deport him, citing his conviction on drug charges more than three decades ago. His attorneys are contesting his detention and deportation, alleging ICE violated due process protections by revoking his order of supervision with no notice or ability to respond.
A video hearing was scheduled for Thursday in federal court.
“He works every day to make Harlem a safer place by mentoring our youth,” Panton's partner Sheila Davis Dodson said in a statement. “I truly cannot understand why ICE has decided to take him from us today, when Robert has done everything they have asked of him for years now. It's not right.”
Spokespeople for ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. In court filings, U.S. attorneys said Panton received a final order to be deported and his permission to stay in the United States expired the day he was detained.
Panton is one of many longtime immigrants who have been detained at routine ICE check-ins under the Trump administration, according to the Legal Aid Society’s Deborah Lee and other immigration attorneys. ICE has disclosed little data or information surrounding its deportation practices.
Panton has received a wealth of community support — including letters of support from Harlem groups and members of New York’s congressional delegation as well as petitions in his honor — in the three years he’s been fighting against his deportation. The supporters cited his community work mentoring young community members at risk of entering the criminal justice system.
Panton was ordered to be deported in 2021, but ICE allowed him to remain in the country, outside of detention, while he awaits decisions about reopening his immigration case and his application for a “U Visa,” an immigration protection granted to victims of crimes, according to Panton's attorney Olivia Abrecht.
Panton came to the United States as a lawful permanent resident from Jamaica when he was 4 years old. In 1992, he was convicted on a drug charge – conspiracy to possess and sell 41 kilograms of heroin – and later sentenced to life in prison. He spent nearly three decades in prison before a judge reduced his sentence, leading to his release in 2020.
Panton said in an affidavit he "will forever regret" his decision to help manage a street drug distribution operation. At the time, he said he felt he had no other option to make money, which he later said was wrong and short-sighted.
Upon his release from prison, Panton was immediately detained by ICE – but later released in April 2021 while he awaited word on his application for a U Visa. Panton was the victim of a shooting in 1991, which led him to spend three weeks in the hospital and required multiple surgeries.
While in prison, Panton served as a law library clerk, creative writing teacher, mentor and imam to other incarcerated people, and he launched a mentoring program for youth at risk of imprisonment in Atlanta, according to court records.
After leaving prison, Panton co-founded a youth mentorship ground called "Ingenious I Am," advising young people to stay away from crime and drugs. He runs a suicide prevention hotline that connects directly to his cellphone. He’s also organized summer programs for teenagers and an internship program to teach trades to young people.
”You walk down the street with Robert, and everybody knows him and everybody loves him in Harlem,” said Abrecht, who works for the National Immigrant Justice Center.
Dozens of Harlem organizations and New York officials — including Democratic Reps. Adriano Espaillat and Jerry Nadler — urged then-President Joe Biden to pardon Panton in late 2023.
“Mr. Panton, through his selfless acts of mentorship and education, is using his second chance — and his unique story of redemption — to make our communities safer,” Espaillat said in a November 2023 letter to Biden.
“Should Mr. Panton’s conviction result in deportation, our own communities will suffer tremendously,” Nadler said in a separate November 2023 letter to Biden. “Through hard work, acts of mentorship, and a big heart, Mr. Panton is using his second chance to help improve the lives and futures of our children. Our communities are stronger and safer because of his work.”
Panton’s also been an outspoken advocate for immigrants. In March 2023, he spoke at a rally in Washington, D.C. to champion the New Way Forward Act, a bill that gives judges more discretion when deciding immigration cases for people with criminal records.
His son Dajon Panton, an NYPD officer, said he’s worried about his dad’s health if he’s deported. Panton has a series of health problems — chronic back pain, a tear in his right knee and a concussion — for which he was scheduled to receive treatments this spring, according to court records.
“He needs to stay in New York with his family and his doctors,” Dajon Panton said in a statement. “We need him.”
Panton is currently being held at the Batavia Detention Center, located between Buffalo and Rochester.
He knew he might be detained before his ICE check-in on March 25. His friends and neighbors surrounded him in a prayer circle prior to the check-in.
In a video recorded before he was detained, Panton said he hopes ICE considers his “efforts trying to help youth stay out of issues that get them in trouble that they can’t get out of. I appreciate all my supporters and all the people who fight for not only due process but the proper consideration of being in this country.”
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Arya Sundaram
Arya is a reporter covering race and justice. Got a tip? Email: [email protected] or reach Arya on Signal at 512-650-8767.
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