A 9-year-old boy who begged to be released from an immigration detention center so he could attend school has been freed by his family, their lawyer said Wednesday.
Deiver Henao Jimenez made the request during a video call this month with children’s broadcaster Ms. Rachel, whose real name is Rachel Accurso.
“I don’t want to be here anymore,” Deiver said in the call, which was then shared on Accurso’s social media pages. “There is nothing good here.”
He and his parents, asylum seekers from Colombia, have been held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas since early March, when they were detained during an immigration inspection in New Mexico, according to their attorney, Corey Sullivan Martin.
ICE released the family on Wednesday, nearly a week after Martin applied for their release and days after NBC News reported on their case.
The principal of his elementary school wrote a letter in mid-March supporting the family’s release, which was later sent to immigration officials, describing Deiver as a “dedicated and excellent student with high grades.”
Sullivan Martin said Deiver is determined to go back to school, rejoin her gifted and talented classes and get back to practicing her spelling words.
“I don’t see how it was necessary at all to lock up a child who is doing exactly what we want children to do,” said Sullivan Martin.
The family plans to return to New Mexico, he said, where he will continue immigration enforcement while their case continues.
The Department of Public Safety did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Deiver’s release came a day after ICE released another juvenile whose case drew widespread attention following a video call with Accurso. Gael, a 5-year-old boy with disabilities, has experienced worsening health problems while in custody at Dilley, his parents said.
The center has faced growing scrutiny from immigration advocates and advocates, who say children there struggle to get adequate health care and education in a place where the lights are on around the clock and officials are on watch. Some families described poor nutrition and long waits for health care.
DHS disputed those accounts, saying the families were being provided appropriate care in a facility designed for their needs.
After his video meetings with the children, Accurso — known for his signature pink headband and sing-song delivery — called for Dilley’s closure and for the families to be returned to their communities.
During their conversation, Deiver told Accurso that he missed his friends and that the food at Dilley’s made his stomach hurt. But she was more concerned about getting out in time to compete in the New Mexico state tournament in May, after earning a spot by finishing third in the state tournament.
“We’re trying to get a kid out of jail to spell,” Accurso said last week. “I never thought those words would go together.”
