During rehearsal for graduation at Francis T. Maloney High School, Ella Rossi didn’t know why there was an empty seat next to her. A day later, she learned that federal immigration officials had detained the student that was supposed to be sitting there.
“I was super duper bummed about it,” Rossi said. “It's a terrible situation.”
The student, identified as Kevin, and his father were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement last week after a scheduled check-in with ICE in Hartford, officials said. They're being detained in Texas.
Although he wasn’t there to walk the stage with his peers, 16-year-old Kevin’s name was read aloud at graduation, where he was also listed as an honor roll student.
“To try to kind of bring his spirit here with us, we have our necklaces that we made,” Rossi said of a friendship-style beaded necklace with Kevin’s name. On her wrist was a matching bracelet.
She also had a couple of white flowers with a hand-written note.
“I was hoping his aunt was gonna come so I could give her the flowers,” Rossi said.
The outpouring of support for Kevin surprised Rossi.
“I actually told my mom … I was like, ‘I don't think people are going to care, like, it's really unfortunate, but I don't think they will.’ And they did,” Rossi said. “The amount of camaraderie and support I've seen is more than I have in all four years.”
Justice for Kevin
The student's detainment is drawing fierce blowback from advocates and Meriden community members.
"We feel incredibly enraged by what's happened to the student, and to his father and to his family generally," said Tabitha Sookdeo, director of Connecticut Students for a Dream, a group that advocates for undocumented immigrants. "It's concerning, it's shocking, and we didn't think this would happen here in Connecticut."
Supporters of the student, identified as Kevin, say he played soccer on his high school team. He has plans to attend community college.
Sookdeo’s group has been in touch with the student's family.
“Students who are in high school, they should not be having to worry about whether they are going to get deported,” Sookdeo said. “They should be worrying about growing up, what it means to be a teenager and then worrying about where they want to go to school if they want to go to college. It's just heartbreaking, truly heartbreaking.”
At the ceremony on Tuesday, Emily Morel Garcia graduated with a sticker on her gown that read, “Estamos unidos,” or “We stand together.”
She immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic 10 years ago and is now a legal resident. She said she wore the sticker for Kevin and his family.
“I have family like him that are in hiding,” Morel Garcia said, “I just know that his family is probably suffering.”
Morel Garcia said a community that shares one voice in these kinds of incidents can make a difference.
“If we stay together,” Morel Garcia said, “I feel like things might change later on in the future.”
A GoFundMe page is now taking donations to help Kevin’s family cover legal fees. More than 3-thousand dollars were raised at the time of the graduation ceremony.
On Wednesday, Maloney High School students are also walking down East Main Street in Meriden from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. to show their support for Kevin.
Still a graduate of Maloney High
Kevin’s cap, gown and diploma are waiting for him when he returns home, said president of the Meriden Board of Education Rob Kosienski.
“We're going to do something for him, [something] special,” Kosienski said. “We'll have him come to the Board of Ed, or we'll do it right here at Maloney, something that he and his family can enjoy.”
According to Kosienski, federal immigration officials did not contact the board nor the school about Kevin and his father’s detainment. ICE also did not respond to requests for comment.
Counseling services have been made available to any student in need of them because of the incident, he said.
“We've had counseling available, not only at Maloney, but at Platt High School and all our middle schools as well,” Kosiensk said.
Miguel Cardona, the former U.S. education secretary for the Biden administration who is from Meriden, posted a video on social media expressing his frustration.
“This is a kid who ... should be experiencing the most important day of his life, his high school graduation, with his family celebrating, but instead he was sent away,” Cardona said.
He told the student: “I’m sorry this is happening to you and your family.”
“No matter where you are on Tuesday, you’re going to be a graduate of our school system,” Cardona said.
Kosienski echoed the sentiment.
“As far as we know, we have a student who just graduated, and he wasn't able to be here tonight,” Kosienski said. “Our hearts are with him and his family as they celebrate his graduation, and eventually we'll do that together as well.”
This story has been updated.
