Durbin Calls For Release Of Chicago High School Senior Currently Detained By ICE Despite His Pending Asylum Case And Lack Of Criminal Record

Durbin Calls For Release Of Chicago High School Senior Currently Detained By ICE Despite His Pending Asylum Case And Lack Of Criminal Record

Durbin in speech on Senate floor: "Cases like Ricardo's are one of the many reasons why Senate Democrats continue to fight to rein in lawless, rogue ICE agents, including by making sure federal agents follow the same standards of law and compliance with the Constitution as state police departments already do."

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, delivered a speech on the Senate floor calling for the release of Ricardo Hernandez-Navarette, a high school senior in Chicago who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) alongside his mother when they attended a routine check-in for their family's pending asylum case. Durbin also reprimanded the Trump Administration for continuing its cruel mass deportation campaign, rounding up community members with no criminal history under the guise of deporting "the worst of the worst."

"Last year, the city of Chicago, which I am honored to represent, lived under President Trump's mass deportation operation, which was dubbed by the Administration as 'Operation Midway Blitz.' While instances of ICE agents teargassing neighborhoods, firing rubber bullets and protestors, and using violent force to detain individuals have slowed since that monthslong campaign, arbitrary immigration enforcement continues to grip the city," Durbin began.

Sharing a photo of Ricardo and his mother, Durbin spoke about the horrendous conditions that they've faced while in ICE custody. After being detained, Ricardo and his mother were separated and detained at two separate Kentucky jails. They have not seen each other in two months.

While a federal judge ruled this week that Ricardo's mother must be released, Ricardo, at just 18 years old, is still being held at a detention facility in Kentucky.

"Two months ago, a high school student named Ricardo Hernandez-Navarette and his mother were arrested in Chicago by ICE agents while at a routine check-in for their family's pending asylum case… They've had no criminal record whatsoever," Durbin said.

"Ricardo is a student at Mather High in West Ridge, Illinois, who also plays soccer with iProSkills Academy. He committed to play for Truman College in the fall after his graduation," Durbin continued. "Does Ricardo sound like the one of the 'worst of the worst' that the President promised would be his target [during these raids]? The murderers and rapists and terrorists? Not to me."

"Ricardo said being in detention 'plays tricks on your mind' and that the bathrooms are 'filthy' with practically no privacy. He continued, saying, 'I miss my mother' and 'I miss playing soccer,'" Durbin said.

"Ricardo and his mother followed the rules. His mother came to the United States in 2022 when Ricardo was 15. She filed for asylum and that petition remains pending, according to court documents. Both have been model neighbors ever since they arrived," Durbin said.

Durbin concluded his remarks by emphasizing the need for reform at ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as Senate Republicans tee up a bill to fund the two agencies at $70 billion, despite a long track record of masked ICE and CBP agents using excessive force and tear gas against innocent people.

"Cases like Ricardo's are one of the many reasons why Senate Democrats continue to fight to rein in lawless, rogue ICE agents, including by making sure federal agents follow the same standards of law and compliance with the Constitution as state police departments already do. That's not too much to ask," Durbin said.

"Unfortunately, many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are continuing to muscle through a partisan spending bill which would give to the ICE agents a blank check. The memory of what happened with the ICE agents in Chicago, and certainly what happened in Minneapolis, is not gone. We still remember when wearing their masks, they were harassing people and killing innocent American citizens," Durbin said.

"Giving ICE a blank check is a mistake…I'm going to vote no on that bill, and I urge ICE to release Ricardo and reunite him with his mother as soon as possible," Durbin concluded his remarks.

Video of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Audio of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Footage of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.

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