A Westchester County high school student was deported at the end of June. The case garnered national headlines and last-minute requests from the attorney for the undocumented immigrant from Ecuador to allow him to stay and earn his diploma from Ossining High School. WAMC’s Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Allison Dunne spoke with Ossining Town Supervisor Dana Levenberg about how the deportation might affect her community.
Federal immigration officials denied two requests for 19-year-old Diego Puma Macancela to remain in the U.S. The high school student was arrested the day of his prom, one day after his mother, and after officials had denied an asylum request and issued a deportation order in November. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, denied the first request, citing the teen’s alleged gang involvement in Ecuador. The second request contained a letter from the Ecuadorian consulate, saying the teen has no criminal record in Ecuador and no current or past affiliation with any gang in the country. On the eve of Puma Macancela's deportation, Ossining Town Supervisor Dana Levenberg spoke about the expected impact on her community.
