Monday hearings scheduled for Ernesto Manuel-Andres

Published 6:05 am Friday, June 20, 2025

By David Horowitz

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Attendees of a community prayer vigil for Ernesto Manuel-Andres, a Bowling Green 18 year old who was seized and detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the beginning of June despite paperwork being shown that grants him eligibility to be in the U.S. with a Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) status, pray for Manuel-Andres during the vigil at Christ Episcopal Church on Tuesday evening, June 17, 2025. The vigil, which included calls to prayer, the lighting of candles and an opportunity for attendees to write letters of encouragement to Manuel-Andres, will be held again Thursday at 7 p.m. at Broadway United Methodist Church. GRACE MCDOWELL / BOWLING GREEN DAILY NEWS
Picture of then-Teranga Academy student Ernesto Manuel-Andres sits on a swing at Chaney's Dairy Barn during a field trip last summer. (SUBMITTED)

DAVID MAMARIL HOROWITZ

david.horowitz@bgdailynews.com

Virtual hearings for Ernesto Manuel Andres, the Bowling Green teenager detained by immigration agents, are scheduled for Monday — docketed for LaSalle Immigration Court in Louisiana, according to the main nonprofit supporting Manuel-Andres.

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A master immigration hearing and bond hearing are both scheduled for June 23, according to Luma Mufleh, CEO of the nonprofit Fugees Family.

The master hearing sets dates and is mainly procedural, she said.

A bond hearing determines whether to grant a person bond based on if he’s a threat to the community or a flight risk, according to the law firm Minsky, McCormick and Hallagan, PC, which is working with Manuel-Andres. If granted bond, Manuel-Andres could possibly be released within one to two days, the law firm previously said.

Mufleh confirmed that the Department of Homeland Security’s June 12 motion, to move the virtual hearing to Louisiana, has been approved.

Previously, Manuel-Andres had a bond hearing scheduled for June 18 in Indianapolis.

The update came about two weeks after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Manuel-Andres despite his legal authorization to stay in the U.S. and protection from deportation.

It also comes amid staunch support for the teenager by the Bowling Green community.

A protest gathered more than 200 ralliers, including at least two city commissioners, a day after news stories of Manuel-Andres’ detainment made headlines; supporters have fundraised more than $27,700 via the online platform GoFundme for Manuel-Andres as of Thursday; this week, faith leaders planned two church vigils to support Manuel-Andres; and another protest for Manuel-Andres is scheduled for Friday.

As of press time, it was unclear what exactly the ramifications may be concerning the docketing at the Louisiana immigration court. A judge can be from anywhere due to the hearing being virtual, Mufleh said.

But the court is widely considered punitive — which was why the Fugees Family had previously and immediately opposed the change to the Louisiana court. The law firm working with Manuel-Andres previously described the court as notoriously difficult, with a historically low grant rate — one where ICE has transferred high-profile cases such as that of Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil.

“Let me be very clear: This is no coincidence and this is not an accident,” Mufleh previously stated when ICE had filed the motion to move Manuel-Andres’ hearing to Louisiana. “This is a deliberate strategy to isolate, punish, and break a young man who has done nothing wrong.”

Understanding the case

The charge, shared with attorneys five days after detaining Manuel-Andres, alleges that Manuel-Andres unlawfully entered the U.S. without admission or parole — while not mentioning any of his legal paperwork, Minsky, McCormick and Hallagan, PC has said.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has granted him the legal classification Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) – for youth who’ve survived abandonment, abuse or neglect, Beata Leja, principal attorney at the law firm, has said. In Manuel-Andres’ case, the Department of Homeland Security also granted him Deferred Action, which provides legal protection from deportation, she has said.

The SIJ classification remains valid indefinitely, while the Deferred Action protection remains valid until February 2029, Leja said.

No charges have been added as of Thursday, Mufleh said.

Manuel-Andres also has no criminal background, Leja said.

She had described the detainment of a person with Deferred Action who has no criminal background as “unprecedented.”

The arrest

ICE seized and detained Manuel-Andres, who is from Guatemala, after arresting his father in a parking lot by 625 Church St. and making his father take them to the apartment at that address, Mufleh previously said, citing a phone conversation with Manuel-Andres.

Manuel-Andres had presented his paperwork at the time, Mufleh has said.

ICE had detained Manuel-Andres in Grayson County before moving him again, at 6:30 a.m., to Laurel County — which had prevented him from speaking to attorneys at 8:30 a.m., Mufleh has said. ICE relocated him again, a second time within five days, to Monroe, Louisiana.

Manuel-Andres got to speak to an attorney June 9, five days after his detainment. That was also when ICE filed the charge in a Notice To Appear.

A bond hearing was scheduled for June 18 to determine whether to grant him bond based on if he’s a threat to the community or a flight risk, Leja had said. If the hearing had happened and a judge had granted Manuel-Andres bond, there was the possibility he could be released after a day or two with a commitment to reappear in court for future hearings, Leja had said.

But three days later, on June 12, the Department of Homeland Security filed its motion to move the hearing. It was accepted, and the initial hearing was canceled, Mufleh said.

As of Thursday, Manuel-Andres remains detained.

ICE hasn’t shared any information about Manuel-Andres’ detainment despite previous requests for comments.

Horowitz reports for the Daily News via a partnership with Report for America.

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