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Pressley condemns ‘rogue’ ICE agents’ arrest of Everett boy, 13
“He is a 7th-grader who should have been met with compassion and care, not criminalized and sent to an adult prison,” Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley said.
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley sharply condemned the “alarming” detainment of a 13-year-old Everett boy by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with his transfer to a detention center in Virginia.
“It is absolutely alarming that the Trump Administration and its rogue ICE agents would abduct a 13-year-old child, transport him to a facility over 500 miles away without his family, lawyer or a court knowing,” Pressley said in a statement Tuesday.
The boy was arrested Oct. 9 at a bus stop after Everett police followed a “credible tip” about a violent threat against another student, Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria said Tuesday.
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DeMaria told reporters that police recovered a 6 to 7 inch long double-sided knife from the boy.
Pressley said the boy has reportedly experienced “harrowing, inhumane conditions, including inadequate nutrition and sleeping on a concrete floor with an aluminum blanket while still healing from a broken foot.”
“He is a 7th-grader who should have been met with compassion and care, not criminalized and sent to an adult prison,” Pressley said.
Pressley has previously supported individuals and families targeted by ICE.
In April, she and other lawmakers traveled to a Louisiana detention center to meet Rümeysa Öztürk, the Tufts University graduate student who was detained by ICE after publishing a pro-Palestine op-ed in the school’s student newspaper.
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Pressley has also advocated for prohibiting the prosecution of children under 18 in adult courts as a part of the People’s Justice Guarantee, her office said. The resolution aims to bar juveniles from being housed in adult prisons, and instead place them in rehabilitation programs.
“The Trump Administration must stop violating the constitutional rights of our constituents. I join the chorus of community voices demanding basic adherence to due process, preservation of this child’s constitutional rights, and his immediate return to his family,” Pressley said.
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