Education, Not Deportation: Defend Detroit Students

Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Senator Gary Peters, Senator Elissa Slotkin, Representative Shri Thanedar, Representative Rashida Tlaib, & Detroit Public Schools Community District

Tell ICE to release Western International High School student Maykol Bogoya-Duarte.

Detroit teachers, students, and parents are coming together to encourage our elected officials and school leaders to support community efforts to advocate for the release of recently detained Detroit student: Maykol Bogoya-Duarte.

Governor Whitmer, Senator Slotkin, Senator Peters, Representative Thanedar, Representative Tlaib, and Detroit Public Schools -- We are asking you to publicly condemn the detention of one of your students, to support his request to be released in order to finish his high school education, and to put preventative policies in place to better support immigrant students and families.

Maykol is a young man who was detained by Border Patrol after being stopped by police downriver in Rockwood, MI. It shouldn’t matter whether or not he was on school grounds at the time he was detained, in order for our leaders to condemn his detention.

Maykol is a junior at Western High School. He and his family emigrated to the US from Colombia two and a half years ago. Since his arrival as a minor, he has proven himself to be an intelligent and caring individual, loved by students and staff alike. He is very polite and strives to always do his best - an ideal student for teachers, and a reliable friend for his peers. His detention has shaken our community's core.

This young man is just hoping to be able to get released from detention in order to complete his high school diploma. Maykol and his family are fighting for a stay of deportation to allow him to finish the 3 credits he has left at Western. We need your help to fight for a student's right to complete his education.

Governor Whitmer - We ask you to:

  • Publicly condemn the arrest and detention of a Michigan student, and to demand that Maykol Bogoya-Duarte is released and granted a stay of deportation in order to finish his schooling.
  • Utilize your federal relationships to connect this student's family with government officials who can support his release and hopes to continue his education at Western International in Detroit.

Congressional Representatives - We ask you to:

  • Publicly condemn the arrest and detention of a Michigan student, and to demand that Maykol Bogoya-Duarte is released and granted a stay of deportation in order to finish his schooling.
  • Work with educators, 482Forward, MIStudentsDream and the family to develop a strategy and put pressure on ICE and the courts to grant him a stay of deportation, allowing him to return home to his family, even temporarily.

DPSCD - We ask you to:

  • Condemn the arrest and detention of one of your students, and request that ICE return the student to complete his education in DPSCD.
  • Include Know Your Rights (KYR) and ESL education information in Back to School Professional Development days, and offer consistent KYR trainings for staff, students, and families.
  • Work with students, parents, and educators to strengthen sanctuary school policy.
  • Offer summer English language classes for students, and commit to no cuts to ESL and Newcomer classes.
  • Offer support for SLIFE students (students with limited or interrupted formal education) which many of our Newcomers need to be classified as and serviced for, and consider hiring a district-wide manager or caseworkers to oversee these cases.
  • Offer extra social/psychiatric support for students (and educators) with trauma.
  • Comply with EL service hour requirements as laid out by MDE.


Please contact Lindsey Matson, Lindsey@482forward.org if you'd like to get more involved in this effort.
Sponsored by
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482Forward
Detroit, MI

To: Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Senator Gary Peters, Senator Elissa Slotkin, Representative Shri Thanedar, Representative Rashida Tlaib, & Detroit Public Schools Community District
From: [Your Name]

As a caring Michigander, I am devastated to hear about the detention and pending deportation of an 18 year old high school student from Detroit. I expect those who represent me to prioritize safety and education of all residents, regardless of immigration status. If you're receiving this letter, I'm urging you to do all you can to fight for justice for this young man. He and his family deserve to be together, and he deserves to be returned back to Detroit to finish his high school education.

Governor Whitmer - We ask you to:
- Publicly condemn the arrest and detention of a Michigan student, and to demand that the student is released and granted a stay of deportation in order to finish his schooling.
- Utilize your federal relationships to connect this student's family with government officials who can support his release and hopes to continue his education at Western International in Detroit.

Congressional Representatives - We ask you to:
- Publicly condemn the arrest and detention of a Michigan student, and to demand that the student is released and granted a stay of deportation in order to finish his schooling.
- Work with educators, 482Forward, MIStudentsDream and the family to develop a strategy and put pressure on ICE and the courts to grant him a stay of deportation, allowing him to return home to his family, even temporarily.

DPSCD - We ask you to:
- Condemn the arrest and detention of one of your students, and request that ICE return the student to complete his education in DPSCD.
- Include Know Your Rights (KYR) and ESL education information in Back to School Professional Development days, and offer consistent KYR trainings for staff, students, and families.
- Work with students, parents, and educators to strengthen sanctuary school policy.
- Offer summer English language classes for students, and commit to no cuts to ESL and Newcomer classes.
- Offer support for SLIFE students (students with limited or interrupted formal education) which many of our Newcomers need to be classified as and serviced for, and consider hiring a district-wide manager or caseworkers to oversee these cases.
- Offer extra social/psychiatric support for students (and educators) with trauma.
Comply with EL service hour requirements as laid out by MDE.