A 16-year-old immigrant was arrested by ICE after he was given the special juvenile status. The teenager was detained after his mother took voluntary deportation to Ecuador in hopes that her son wouldn’t have to face the same. Joel Camas’ arrest comes to light as many minors are being targeted in the latest phase of the immigration crackdown.
Joel Camas first came to the United States with his mother in 2022. The mother and son fled their country to escape the gang violence. The teen is currently a student at the Gotham Collaborative High School. He was reportedly staying with his relatives for 4 weeks after his mother was deported.
Joel Camas is a 16 yr-old NYC high schooler in the Bronx. He loves soccer & pepperoni pizza.
Yesterday, his lawyer and I accompanied him to an ICE check-in. He has Special Immigrant Juvenile Status—it should have been fine.
But it was not.💔 [thread] https://t.co/sJC3yMnk6S
— Brad Lander (@bradlander) October 24, 2025
Joel arrived at the 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan on Thursday, unaware of what his fate had written for him. City comptroller, Brad Lander, and the teen’s attorney, Beth Baltimore, accompanied him to the headquarters.
The group was made to wait for several hours before Joel was separated and taken into custody. Ms. Baltimore recalls that she had tears in her eyes when she realized the teenager was being deported. “I had no idea this was going to happen,” she noted.
Tyranny by ICE!!…
Camas “was detained Thursday morning during a routine check-in with federal officials…
“Again and again, the government has claimed that they are targeting criminals and getting rid of the worst of the worst, and this is in reality who they’re going after,”” https://t.co/w6WWUReJye
— Joel Waterman🧢🦔🐻☪☮𝔼✡ℹ️☯✝🗽🇺🇸🎲 (@xtrole) October 25, 2025
The attorney noted that she had gotten “too hopeful,” considering Joel had been given a special immigrant juvenile status. In the past, the visa status has proven successful in getting minors’ permanent residency once acquired. Unfortunately, immigration rules and regulations have been far from hard and fast ever since Trump took office.
A spokesperson of the Department of Homeland Security addressed the case after the public started raising questions about the deportation. Tricia McLaughlin revealed that Joel and his mother were issued with final orders of removal by a federal judge on Feb. 28, 2024.
Here’s the REAL story:
On Feb. 28, 2024, under the BIDEN ADMINISTRATION, Joel Camas and his mother were issued finals orders of removal from a federal judge.
His mother self-deported to Ecuador and Camas remained in the USA alone as a minor. Fortunately, now Mr. Camas will be… https://t.co/UxHYHcYrSs
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) October 26, 2025
“His mother self-deported to Ecuador, and Camas remained in the U.S.A. alone as a minor,” the DHS employee wrote in an email to The New York Times. She went on to note how the teenager would “be reunited with family” after returning to his country.
Amy Belsher, the director of immigrants’ rights litigation at the New York Civil Liberties Union, spoke about how the teenager’s detention is “offensive.” She pointed out how the Trump administration has repeatedly claimed that its immigration crackdown was targeting criminals and “getting rid of the worst of the worst.”
She accused the government of “going after” people like Joel instead. “It’s offensive that they would target an 11th grader for arrest and removal when he has done nothing other than follow the rules here,” Belsher added.
Joel is set to meet the same fate as his mother, who crossed the Darién Gap on foot in search of asylum. Ms. Chafla made her way into America three years ago with her son in hopes of finding refuge from gang violence. Joel reportedly had dreamt of joining the American army one day or working as an auto mechanic in the country.
