Connecticut high school students rally to protest classmate's ICE detention

Theresa Braine, New York Daily News on Jun 10, 2025

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High school students in Meriden, Connecticut, are rallying in support of a classmate who was snatched by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with his father, days before graduation.

Students and state officials were outraged the teen would be cooped up in a Texas ICE detention center instead of onstage receiving his diploma in person at Tuesday evening’s ceremony in Connecticut. ICE detained them last week after a routine scheduled check-in, Meriden officials said.

“Graduation is one of the most important days of a student’s life, and everyone should be able to sit down and celebrate,” Maloney High School senior Khamren Rodriguez told WVIT-TV of her missing classmate, who was identified only as Kevin for privacy reasons.

“It’s incredibly disheartening to see,” fellow grad Rowan Fisher told WVIT. “He worked so hard, just like the rest of us.”

Students told WFSB-TV they will hold a peaceful protest at the graduation ceremony, which starts at 6 p.m. Superintendent of Schools Mark Benigni vowed that the team soccer player eyeing community college will still get his degree.

“I can assure you that students who meet all of the Meriden Public Schools graduation requirements will be issued a diploma from the Meriden Board of Education Benigni said in a statement.”

Local and state officials said they were on the case.

“Our community is outraged and working hard to get our Maloney student back to Connecticut,” Meriden Mayor Scarpati and Council Majority Leader Sonya Jelks said in a statement, noting that the high school was offering counseling to students and families.

Former U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, who is from Meriden, posted a video registering his frustration at the hypocrisy of detaining people even as they complied with the law.

“This case is more proof that the Trump administration has proven their immigration policy is not about deporting criminals,” Sen. Chris Murphy told WFSB-TV.

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