Advocates say Kentucky teen detained by ICE despite being in country legally
.png "A screenshot of a Facebook post by refugee advocate Luma Mufleh provides an update on the case of Ernesto Manuel Andres.")
Three weeks ago, Ernesto Manuel Andres celebrated a milestone: He graduated high school in Bowling Green.
He was looking forward to his future in the United States.
But now, the Guatemala native may be facing deportation despite having legal status to be in the United States, advocates say.
On June 4, federal agents raided his apartment complex. Andres’ father was detained even though agents were not looking for the Andres family, according to Luma Mufleh, founder of Fugees Family and a longtime advocate for refugee and immigrant youth.
Fugees Family runs programs for refugee children in connection with the Bowling Green Independent Schools and other school districts across the country.
Mufleh said Andres’ father was told by Immigration, Customs and Enforcement agents to return to the apartment where they found Ernesto Andres, 18.
Andres has two types of documents that give him legal status to be in the United States — Special Immigrant Juvenile status — a legal designation granted to youth who have survived abandonment, neglect or abuse. He also has Deferred Action from the Department of Homeland Security, which legally protects him from deportation until 2029, Mufleh said.
“He showed them the documents,” Mufleh said in a telephone interview.
“He has complied with every requirement asked of him. He has no criminal history, no pending charges, no deportation order, and no reason to be detained,” Mufleh wrote in a GoFundMe set up to help pay lawyers to represent Andres.
The recent high school graduate was arrested anyway.
Mufleh was in shock. She knew Andres had legal documents to be in the country.
“ I thought they would realize they made a mistake and will release him,” Mufleh said. “Now, we can’t get him out.”
Andres’ arrest comes as President Donald Trump’s administration has ramped-up efforts to arrest and deport immigrants who are not in the country legally. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller told Fox News May 29 the White House has set a new goal of 3,000 arrests a day.
The Trump administration’s efforts to increases arrests has also sparked widespread protests in California.
Advocates have scrambled to find Andres within the ICE system.
He has been moved three different times since he was detained June 4, advocates said. He is currently in an ICE detention facility in Monroe, Louisiana, according to an ICE database.
Andres was able to contact officials with Fugees and his school while he was detained at the Grayson County Detention Center last week, which holds ICE detainees in Kentucky.
“We had people who went to Grayson County to check on him,” Mufleh said.
But ICE moves fast. Andres was moved from Grayson County at 6:30 a.m. in the days after his detention.
“Our people were there at 8:30 a.m.,” Mufleh said.
He was not able to talk to a lawyer until Monday shortly after 4 p.m. and that only happened after pressure from officials and groups in Louisiana, Mufleh said.
Mufleh said Andres is scared and worried. He also doesn’t understand why ICE agents ignored the documents he showed them.
Mufleh and others in Bowling Green are now raising money to help pay for Andres’ legal fees.
Andres has not been given documents to show the charges against him. ICE is supposed to provide that information within 72 hours, Mufleh said. Lawyers had been told Andres may have a June 18 court date in Indianapolis.
Neither he nor his lawyers have been given any paperwork. He could be released on bail after a hearing. It’s also possible a judge could dismiss the case.
“His due process rights are being violated,” Mufleh said. “He is being held without a charge.”
Bowling Green has been a longtime refugee resettlement area. Since 1981, Kentucky’s third-largest city has welcomed more than 10,000 refugees, according to the International Center of Kentucky in Bowling Green, a refugee resettlement agency.
The city was the subject of a 2023 Emmy-nominated documentary produced, written and directed by Lisa Renze, the former student media adviser at Ball State University. “Fleeing to Flyover Country” captured and celebrated the vibrant diversity that permeates Bowling Green’s business, educational and family circles.
This story was originally published June 10, 2025 at 12:33 PM.
