Superintendent of Roosevelt School District, Dr. Shawn Wightman, told Eyewitness News that Alvaro Velasquez's diploma and gown are still sitting in his office, and that the teen was frightened to go back to Guatemala.
"Certainly. You know, he came here for a reason," Dr. Wightman said.
Velasquez came to the United States alone from Guatemala when he was just 16. The teen, whose mother died, and father was not in the picture, did it at great risk, but teachers say he appreciated every moment he had, perhaps more than most.
"He was so wonderful. He was the student that every teacher would dream to have," said Roosevelt High School social studies teacher, Jessica Harrison.
That was until days before graduation last June. Velasquez never made it to the big ceremony, because he was randomly picked up by ICE. With no criminal record, he was taken to a detention center in Texas, where he's been ever since.
When asked what message this sends to people like Velasquez, his attorney, Pallvi Babbar, said it sends the message that it's not safe here.
"He wasn't doing anything wrong. He was in the car with his guardian, going back from the grocery store," Babbar said.
On Tuesday at a virtual hearing from detention, Velasquez agreed to self deport rather than stay in the U.S. His school superintendent, who's been on a quest to give him the recognition he deserves, traveled to Texas over the summer to visit Velasquez at his own personal expense, and was not even permitted to give him his diploma.
Dr. Wightman described the visiting area.
"A chair, kind of a little desk or bench, and then a bulletproof glass that was see through that you could talk to one another through a little hole," he said.
Velasquez's attorney explains he did come here unlawfully as a juvenile but went through the courts.
"Granted deferred action... granted the ability to stay in this country," Babbar said.
His superintendent is determined to travel to Guatemala, if that's what it takes, to give the diploma to the student who never got them at graduation.
"That is an important day in the life of a student or a child, and he didn't get that opportunity," Dr. Wightman said.
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin released the following statement:
"Alvaro Castro-Velasquez is an illegal alien from Guatemala who illegally crossed the southern border and was apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol May 6, 2022. Castro was released into our country by the Biden administration. ICE arrested Castro June 1 pursuant to a warrant of arrest. He is in ICE custody and undergoing removal proceedings.
Secretary Noem is reversing Biden's catch and release policy that allowed millions of unvetted illegal aliens to be let loose on American streets. This Administration is once again implementing the rule of law."
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