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Queens student detained by ICE hoped to become lifeguard, join varsity soccer team
By
Jessica Gould
Published Jun 18, 2025
Modified Jun 20, 2025
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Office of John Garzon
By
Jessica Gould
Published Jun 18, 2025
Modified Jun 20, 2025
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A Queens high school student who had just tried out for the varsity soccer team, was training to become a lifeguard, and had been studying for his Regents exam was apprehended by ICE at immigration court, his legal team told Gothamist.
Derlis Snaider Chusin Toaquiza, a 19-year-old 11th grader at Grover Cleveland High School, is the second known New York City public school student who is now in ICE custody. While the first student detained by ICE has grabbed headlines, the details of Toaquiza’s case have not been public until now.
“Derlis was going to school and has no criminal record and has a great community of friends that are very supportive,” said Nicholas John Garzon, a case manager of Toaquiza’s legal team. He said he took care of his younger brother and sister, often picking them up from school and making them dinner.
According to court documents, Toaquiza was detained in Manhattan federal court on June 4. He filed a lawsuit on June 6 challenging his detention and is now being held at an ICE facility in Texas. A hearing in his case is scheduled for Friday.
When asked earlier this month whether ICE had taken a second, unnamed New York City high school student into custody, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that “a 19-year-old illegal alien was arrested who tried to grab the weapon of a Federal Protective Service officer.”
**“**Unfortunately, the media doesn’t seem to care about the facts and is running away with another fabricated sob story,” the statement said.
However, the statement identified that incident as taking place after Toaquiza was detained, on June 6.
On Friday, after this story published, a DHS official sent a statement that did not mention the gun-grabbing incident.
"ICE is now following the law and placing these illegal aliens in expedited removal, as they always should have been," the DHS official said.
“If they have a valid credible fear claim, they will continue in immigration proceedings, but if no valid claim is found, aliens will be subject to a swift deportation.”
Garzon said he could not “confirm or deny” allegations that Toaquiza tried to grab an officer’s gun. But he emphasized that his office has received numerous letters from teachers, classmates and the Grover Cleveland High School principal attesting to Toaquiza’s character.
Derlis Snaider Chusin Toaquiza (left) with his family. Court filings say he would often pick up his younger siblings from school and cook them dinner.
Office of John Garzon
“Derlis is a kind, respectful and dedicated young man,” Grover Cleveland High School Principal Marc Pascente wrote in a letter to immigration officials and sent to Toaquiza’s lawyer. “His unexpected removal has caused significant disruption to his learning and has had a deep emotional impact on his classmates and our entire school community….He belongs with his family and classmates where he can continue learning and growing.”
According to the court filing, Toaquiza and his family are from Ecuador and arrived in the United States in March 2024. His parents applied for asylum, citing discrimination they faced for being members of the indigenous Ponzaleo tribe.
Toaquiza and his mother appeared for scheduled immigration hearings at 26 Federal Plaza without a lawyer on June 4, the filing stated. His phone was broken so they agreed to wait for each other outside their respective court rooms. But Toaquiza never showed up to meet his mother after his hearing. His legal team said his case was postponed and another hearing was set for October, but instead he was taken to a facility in Livingston, Texas.
“After many agonizing hours,” the court document said, his mother learned he had been entered into a federal database as “in ICE custody.” The family then waited days to find out where he was being held.
Toaquiza's case alleges his due process rights were violated. The basis for the teen’s detention is not explained in his lawsuit, which states he was included in his parents’ asylum application but had to appear in court separately due to his age.
New York City's immigration court has begun the site of regular protests as ICE officers detain immigrants showing up for hearings. The city Law Department has argued in a legal brief that ICE's practice of targeting immigrants at court harms public safety by dissuading them from accessing basic services or complying with judge's orders. Federal agents arrested City Comptroller Brad Lander, a mayoral candidate, on Tuesday as he escorted immigrants at immigration court.
On Tuesday, nearly two weeks after Toaquiza was taken into custody, Garzon said that Toaquiza’s family was finally able to deposit money into his commissary in the Texas detention center. where, Garzon said, he had not had funds for a change of clothes since he arrived.
Detainees at immigration facilities in California have also not had access to clean clothes, lawmakers said Tuesday, according to the Guardian.
Some elected officials have rallied to support Toaquiza and his family. “It is every parent’s nightmare to be separated from their children and have no idea where they are or what is happening to them. The fact that this is happening in our country’s name is sickening," said New York State Sen. Michael Gianaris.
“A high school student from my neighborhood was torn from his family and disappeared from a routine immigration court check-in,” said New York state Assemblymember Claire Valdez. “For several painful days, his family had no idea where he was. Now we know the terrible truth: He has been abducted and transported thousands of miles away from home to Texas. This outcome is barbaric. It should be a direct affront to our collective conscience."
City Hall spokesperson Zachary Nosanchuk said Mayor Eric Adams is aware of the case. “As Mayor Adams has said, our city is less safe when people are afraid to use public resources and go to their court hearings and are, instead, forced to hide in the shadows,” he said.
Correction: This story has been updated to correctly attribute a quote to Assemblymember Claire Valdez.
Tagged
education
queens
Jessica Gould
Jessica is the education reporter for WNYC and Gothamist. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Jessica reported on the shutdown and reopening of the nation’s largest school system, highlighting the unprecedented impacts on learning, health and mental health for students, staff and families. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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