Queens HS student returns home after weeks in ICE detention

NEW YORK - A Queens high school student is returning home Friday after spending weeks inside a Texas ICE detention center.

Derlis Snaider Chusin Toaquiza, an 11th-grader at Ridgewood's Grover Cleveland High School, is reuniting with his mom, dad and siblings at Port Authority Bus Terminal this morning.

The backstory:

Toaquiza, 19, was detained by ICE agents June 4 during a scheduled immigration hearing and arrived at IAH Detention Center in Livingston, Texas, on June 8, according to the New York Legal Assistance Group. The NYLAG claims the teen was fed one meal a day and had to sleep sitting up due to the crowded conditions.

According to an amicus brief filed by New York City against his detention, Toaquiza is an immigrant from Ecuador who played on his school's soccer team and was awarded "Most Improved" by his teachers.

"Derlis has demonstrated a commitment to building a future in the United States and has endeavored to be a positive member of his community," the brief read.

Earlier this week, the Envision Freedom Fund posted the $20,000 bond to facilitate Toaquiza's return home, according to the NYLAG.

What they're saying:

In a statement translated from Spanish, Toaquiza's parents expressed gratitude for those who advocated for their son's release:

"We can never repay those who lent their hands to lift up a family that had fallen. You have restored hope where all was lost for us. But there is a God who sees all. And I know that He will reward you for everything you do for your neighbors," the statement read.

The other side:

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security continued to defend its policy of having ICE officers arrest people at their immigration court hearings after a group of immigrants and legal advocates filed a class-action lawsuit in DC. They claim arresting people at immigration court is safer for law enforcement officers.

"We aren’t some medieval kingdom, there are no legal sanctuaries where you can hide and avoid the consequences for breaking the law," Tricia McLaughlin, Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs, told The Associated Press in an email. "Nothing in the constitution prohibits arresting a lawbreaker where you find them."