Cincinnati high school graduate faces deportation after routine ICE check-in

A recent high school graduate in Ohio is facing deportation to Honduras just weeks after receiving his diploma, sparking protests from community members and teammates in Cincinnati.

Emerson Colindres, who arrived in the United States as a child over a decade ago, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during what his supporters say was a routine check-in at an ICE facility in Cincinnati suburb Blue Ash last Wednesday.

According to his soccer coach Brian Williams, ICE agents were waiting for Colindres at the facility, which operates the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP) — an alternative to detention.

“That’s when they informed us that they were detaining and deporting Emerson only,” Williams told Cincinnati ABC affiliate WCPO. “No explanation was given.”

Colindres and his family sought asylum after arriving from Honduras, but their case and subsequent appeal were denied with a final removal order issued in 2023. His supporters say the family had been regularly checking in with ICE and were never explicitly told to leave the country.

The Department of Homeland Security, responding to inquiries about the case, emphasized their current enforcement policies in a statement to WCPO.

“Those arrested had executable final orders of removal by an immigration judge and had not complied with that order. If you are in the country illegally and a judge has ordered you to be removed, that is precisely what will happen,” it said.

The department also noted that “ICE’s ATD-Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP) exists to ensure compliance with release conditions.”

As news of Colindres’s detention spread, support from his community has grown steadily. Outside the Cincinnati jail where Colindres is being held, soccer teammates and community members have gathered in protest.

“No kid our age should be going through what he’s going through. He’s alone. He’s in a jail cell right now all by himself,” Josh Williams, a friend of Colindres, told WCPO.

His soccer coach, Brian Williams, became emotional discussing the situation.

“Emerson’s one of the best kids I’ve ever met,” he told WCPO. “We don’t know what we can do, but we’re doing whatever we can.”

Teammates described Colindres as an exceptional player and person.

“He’s like the best player I’ve ever seen. He’s dedicated. He wants to win,” Preston Robinson, a friend and teammate, told WCPO.

Robinson emphasized to WCPO that Colindres had no choice in his immigration status as a child.

“It’s not like he had a say in whether he could or couldn’t come,” he said. “I just wanted to be here to show that I support him. Support anybody that’s going through this, because it’s just not fair.”

The Department of Homeland Security noted in their statement that “ICE’s ATD-Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP) exists to ensure compliance with release conditions.”