Family, friends, politicians and community members came out in full force Wednesday to welcome home a 16-year-old boy who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement just days before his graduation from Maloney High School in last June.
The community helped bring him home, and on Wednesday they embraced his return.
Kevin’s appearance on stage drew loud applause at a press conference at Meriden Public Library and eventually a room-wide sing-along of “Happy Birthday” in both English and Spanish. Kevin’s birthday is Christmas Day.
“Thank you so much,” said Kevin, who arrived at the press conference with his aunt and two cousins. “I just want to say thank you and I’m so grateful that so many of you are out here for me today. I don’t have a lot of words, but I just want to say how thankful I am for all of you and I’m really nervous.”
In June, Kevin and his father were detained in Hartford after a routine immigration check-in. Kevin was transferred to a facility in Texas where he had stayed for six months. According to one of Kevin’s legal counselors, Matt Blumenthal of the Koskoff Koskoff and Bieder law firm, the teen spent the last six months in McAllen, Texas.
Blumenthal said he joined Kevin’s legal team, that included with immigration lawyers Maegan Faitsch and Glenn Formica, in recent weeks. The legal team decided to file a federal habeas corpus case to file a court order for Kevin’s release, that’s when Matt Blumenthal and Frances Bourliot, local counsel in Texas, were called into action. The case was filed in the Southern District of Texas on Dec. 16. The judge ruled in Kevin’s favor on Dec. 19.
“Kevin’s return represents a victory not just for himself and his community, but for the rule of law his strength and courage should inspire us his imprisonment was cruel, unjust and violated federal law and his return to send a message to the Trump administration,” Blumenthal said. “When our immigrant neighbors are unjustly detained, Connecticut communities and lawyers will fight back. Partnered with the skilled attorneys across the country and hold it accountable.”
Faitsch said Kevin was taken from his family and friends, but the community made a lot of noise. She said getting to know her client over the last sixth months that the teen is “really special.” She sent a call to action to the community to be there for each other.
“I ask you to learn from Kevin’s example and participate in this fight with us,” Faitsch said. “We need you, the community, to join us. We need to donate, to give kids like Kevin access to free lawyers. We need you to volunteer to accompany people to court hearings. We need you to call your representatives about anti-immigrant bills are proposed in Congress. We need you to demand that this administration stop detaining people unjustly and for those who are afraid to step outside, to pick up your children from school, to show up to court. We are here for you, and you are not on your own because in the end, only we the people can save us.”
Blumenthal said the community support helped to connect the family connected to a legal team.
“The community really rallied around Kevin and that was really moving for Kevin’s family,” Blumenthal said. “The government was delaying and refusing to release him even though his continued detention was clearly unlawful. Ultimately, with Kevin’s permission, we went to federal court to argue that and when the government was ordered to show cause in response to our petition of why should you continue to imprison him? They decided to release him instead.”
“It shows that that people like Kevin have a recourse in the law,” Blumenthal added. “It reaffirms the rule of law, and it shows that when presented with cases like Kevin’s courts are willing to hold the government accountable and that when people like Kevin who are unjustly and illegally detained, have the community support that we saw in Meriden that they can bring together the legal and other resources fight back and hold the government accountable.”
Before the event began, Kevin was flooded with hugs, well wishes from friends, Meriden residents and elected officials.
Among those who spoke on Wednesday were Blumenthal, his father, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, National Immigration Law Center president Kica Matos, Meriden City Council majority leader Sonya Jelks, Meriden Mayor Kevin Scarpati and Maloney High School principal Jennifer Straub.
Matos noted that over 100 faith leaders from different denominations appealed for his release, calling it “a violation of our values here in Connecticut.”
“Well, call it a Christmas miracle or an example of what happens when communities come together to fight for justice,” Matos said.
Straub gave Kevin a Maloney High School sweatshirt and a big hug at the press conference. Kevin did not have the opportunity to walk among the 346 Maloney High graduates on June 10. His cap and gown were given to Kevin’s aunt in the days following the graduation.
“He was a very good student and in our bilingual program. He was with us for about a year and a half,” Straub said. “Right away he made a lot of friends and emerged as a leader among the student body. He had a core group of tight friends, but the whole student body rallied behind him when this occurred. Word spread fast and he had a sphere of influence for sure.”
Straub said Kevin’s situation was a trauma to the school.
“It’s very terrifying. We have a very large Spanish population in our school from all over Spanish-speaking countries and whatever their status is, legal or not, they are terrified,” Straub said. “We watch the news. They are all on social media and well versed. They are astute and smart. I work with them every day and I’m impressed with them every day.”
She said after Kevin’s detainment, there was fear among students.
“Initially after, there was fear because it was so close to home,” Straub said. “Maloney High School is a great place and Meriden Public Schools is very welcoming and inclusive. We’ve done a lot to ensure their safety while they are here.”
Matt Blumenthal said Kevin’s return is bittersweet because “he should not have been unjustly detained and that he had to miss everything over the last six months including his graduation.”
“At the end of the day, he’s a child and the government has a legal and a moral responsibility to protect children not to put them at risk or to imprison them and so I think it’s going to be a joyful and happy day to have his have him return to his community which loves him and is so proud of him,” Matt Blumenthal said. “But I think it also it is important to recognize the injustice that has been done to him.”
Matt Blumenthal had no comment on the status of Kevin’s father, who was not at Wednesday’s event. Kevin briefly and tearfully addressed his father, who he said he hasn’t been able to see. He did confirmed that he has been able to speak him.
“The thing that happened with my father was very difficult,” Kevin said. “It was a separation of friends, practically. The trust I had with my father, it was really good and the inability to share days with him is affecting me greatly. I haven’t talked about this to anybody. Because it’s all very difficult.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal said what happened to Kevin six months ago “was the canary in the coal mine because what we’ve seen since is this ongoing pattern of illegality, cruelty, heartbreak, heartless action by ICE and immigration authority.”
Kevin had a really good fortune to have behind him a wonderful community including Sonya (Jelks), Kevin (Scarpati) and let’s give a big shoutout to the students of Maloney High School,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal said. “They left the seat open for him at graduation. They were behind him all of the way. They knew him as a remarkable one man who will one day, I hope, I know, will be a citizen of the United States of America.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal said he has invited Kevin to Washington D.C. to speak to his colleagues “so, they can see what is really happening in this country. What happened to him six months ago has been repeated again, again and again.”
Matt Blumenthal said there are many other Kevin’s throughout the United States.
“The government has certainly detained a significant number of minors across the country there are certainly others from Connecticut who have been detained and shipped across the country hundreds of thousands of miles from their homes and separated from their families and community resources and potentially legal assistance,” he said. “I’m certainly other people like Kevin who have been treated the way he has.”
Kevin asked for support for others in his situation.
“Really, I’m not just asking for me. I’m asking for you all to support more people. It’s very hard to go through this process,” he said. “It’s not easy and we are all human, and we shouldn’t be treated like this. I ask for you to help the other people like me and I just ask for your help.”