U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin called on May 21 for the release of Ricardo Hernandez-Navarette, a high school senior from Chicago who remains in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody despite having no criminal record and a pending asylum case.
Durbin, speaking on the Senate floor, said Hernandez-Navarette and his mother were detained by ICE during a routine check-in related to their family’s asylum application. “Last year, the city of Chicago, which I am honored to represent, lived under President Trump’s mass deportation operation, which was dubbed by the Administration as ‘Operation Midway Blitz.’ While instances of ICE agents teargassing neighborhoods, firing rubber bullets and protestors, and using violent force to detain individuals have slowed since that monthslong campaign, arbitrary immigration enforcement continues to grip the city,” Durbin said.
He described how after being detained in Chicago two months ago, Hernandez-Navarette and his mother were separated and held at different Kentucky jails. While a federal judge ordered his mother’s release this week, Hernandez-Navarette remains in detention at age 18. Durbin said both have no criminal history: “Ricardo is a student at Mather High in West Ridge, Illinois… Does Ricardo sound like one of the ‘worst of the worst’ that the President promised would be his target [during these raids]? The murderers and rapists and terrorists? Not to me.” He quoted Hernandez-Navarette describing detention conditions as mentally taxing with “filthy” bathrooms lacking privacy: “I miss my mother,” and “I miss playing soccer,” he added.
Durbin outlined that Hernandez-Navarette’s mother arrived in 2022 when her son was 15 years old; she filed for asylum upon arrival—a petition still pending according to court documents—and both have been model neighbors since then. Durbin concluded by urging reform at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), criticizing efforts to fund these agencies without accountability measures: “Giving ICE a blank check is a mistake…I’m going to vote no on that bill, and I urge ICE to release Ricardo and reunite him with his mother as soon as possible,” he said.
Durbin has assisted Illinois residents with federal agency matters—including immigration processes—and has held leadership roles such as Senate Democratic Whip while representing Illinois in Congress, according to the official website.
