Motion filed to move BG graduate’s case to LaSalle Immigration Court

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Officials with Fugees Family are sharing the latest developments in the case of a Bowling Green graduate that has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Fugees Family CEO Luma Mufleh said there was no reason for Manuel-Andres to be detained, given the paperwork he provided ICE.

Mufleh said the 18-year-old has his Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, which is a legal designation granted to youth who have survived abandonment, neglect or abuse, as well as Deferred Action from the Department of Homeland Security, which legally protects him from deportation. Bowling Green Independent Schools has confirmed Manuel-Andres is a recent graduate of Teranga Academy in Bowling Green.

In the latest update Thursday, Fugees Family states the Department of Homeland Security has now filed a motion to move Manuel-Andres’ immigration case to LaSalle Immigration Court. Fugees Family states this court is “one of the most notoriously punitive courts in the country.”

“Let me be very clear: This is no coincidence and this is not an accident,” Mufleh stated. “This is a deliberate strategy to isolate, punish, and break a young man who has done nothing wrong.”

Since being detained, Manuel-Andres has been moved from Grayson County Jail to Laurel County Jail and ultimately ended up in the Richwood Correctional Center in Monroe, Louisiana.

According to the release, if this motion is granted, Manuel-Andres’ bond hearing, which is scheduled for June 18, will be canceled or delayed. He would remain detained, and his hearing would eventually be held, according to Fugees Family, on an unknown date in “a jurisdiction where relief is rarely granted.”

Fugees Family states that Manuel-Andres is in the United States legally.

“The government knows this and detained him anyway,” the release states.

According to the release, Manuel-Andres “has no criminal record,” along with “no charges” and “no deportation order.”

Fugees Family states despite this, Manuel-Andres is “now potentially locked out of a fair hearing.”

On Wednesday, a group gathered in Bowling Green to protest ICE operations in the country. Fugees Family says hundreds of people, ranging from teachers to coaches and even those who have never met Manuel-Andres, have donated to help cover this potential bond costs.

“The message is clear: This is not what America voted for. This is not who we are,” Mufleh said.

Mufleh urged DHS to drop the motion immediately, according to the release.

“Ernesto deserves to be heard by the court that first received his case. He deserves fairness. He deserves due process. He deserves to come home,” she said.

News 40 will continue to follow this case and provide the latest updates.