Two Detroit high school students were detained by federal immigration agents while working a summer cleaning job in the Buffalo area and later appeared in immigration custody records at a facility in El Paso. The arrests have shaken Southwest Detroit's immigrant community and triggered urgent legal and political maneuvering. Families, teachers, and local advocates say the case reflects deepening anxiety as immigration enforcement ramps up across the country.
Detained While Working a Summer Job
The students, 18-year-old twins Alexka and Angely Jerez‑Medina, traveled to the Buffalo area this summer to clean an Amazon warehouse and were detained on June 24, according to court documents. As reported by the Detroit Free Press, ICE's detainee locator later indicated they had been transferred to a detention facility in El Paso, and a Rochester attorney filed a habeas corpus petition on their behalf on June 25.
Part of a National Enforcement Surge
The detentions are unfolding in the middle of a late June enforcement push that swept up roughly 10,000 people in five days, an average of nearly 2,000 arrests per day nationwide, according to reporting. The Los Angeles Times reports that the spike has rattled immigrant-rights advocates and local officials across the United States.
Local Officials And Advocates Push For Release
State and local officials signed a July 7 letter urging El Paso ICE field director Maria Flores and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to parole or otherwise release the twins, and U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib has separately called for their release. According to the Detroit Free Press, teacher Kristen Schoettle wrote in a supporting letter that "Angely and Alexka are excellent students," and local advocates say four of the five teens detained in the broader sweep have been released while at least one remains in custody.
Legal Fight Underway
The habeas petition asks a judge to examine whether the twins' detention is lawful and to order their release while further proceedings play out. Lawyers for the family say a swift ruling could decide whether the students return to Michigan or remain in long-term federal custody as their immigration cases move forward.
What Amazon Says And Community Reaction
Amazon said it had no information about the arrests, while community leaders in Detroit have rallied to support the students' families. According to Hoodline, Detroit has seen community outrage over earlier student detentions in the past year, and local organizers say this latest case has renewed calls for schools and elected officials to shield students from enforcement actions that separate families.
What’s Next
Attorneys and advocates say the next key step will be a court hearing on the habeas petition, along with continued pressure from elected officials urging ICE to grant parole. For Detroit families already wary of enforcement activity, the twins' case is emerging as an early test of how national immigration policy is landing on local students and workplaces.
