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New Haven Students Continue to Support Detained Classmate

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High schoolers continue to show support for their classmate who has been in ICE custody since September.

December 10, 2019, marks three months since Mario Aguilar’s arrest at the Milford Superior Court.

He was arrested by ICE in September when he was going to court charged with a DUI in connection to a car crash, which his lawyer has said he denies.

Despite the rain Tuesday, his Wilbur Cross High School peers joined together with some community members to continue to show support for the high school junior.

Aguilar’s peers argue he should have the opportunity to fight his case and remain in this country.  

Plus, they’re arguing for systemic change with our country’s immigration system.

Aguilar’s lawyer said he fled violence in Guatemala three years ago. He came to live with his uncle in New Haven.  

But, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said he’s here illegally and Aguilar did not show up to immigration court after he was arrested by Border Patrol near the southwest border in 2018.

“The goal is to let everybody to know what the situation is, spread the word, so we can be a bigger community,” said junior Wilbur Cross High School student Stephanie Pawcar.

Pawcar was one of more than a dozen students who took the train to Milford to protest Tuesday. “I don’t personally know Mario, but he is a students at Wilbur Cross and it’s really important because it’s something that needs to be talked about.”

“I hope that he knows we’re fighting for him and I hope that helps, but that’s very minimal when you’re stripped away of your humanity,” said CT Students for a Dream organizer Anthony Barroso.  “We’re here to also to show Mario if he can hear the news, that we are fighting for him, and many others in the same situation.”

Protestors said a judge in Boston will decide if Aguilar will be deported Thursday.

We reached out to a spokesperson from ICE Tuesday, but did not hear back.

In the past, they have said Aguilar will remain in custody until the immigration judge issues the final order.

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