NEWARK, NJ — Alan Junior Pierre, a 20-year-old Haitian high schooler, has been held in an immigration detention center in Newark since June 3, despite having legal status in the United States and no criminal record, according to USA Today.
A senior at Spring Valley High School in New York, Alan had entered the U.S. through the southern border and was granted parole in January 2025 — a form of temporary legal entry on humanitarian grounds. His father, Dutan Pierre, is a naturalized U.S. citizen. Alan was living with his family and attending school full-time when he was unexpectedly detained.
“He followed the legal process as it existed,” said his attorney, Vince Sykes, in an interview with The Journal News/lohud. “He obeyed all the rules. And yet, today Alan is behind bars, missing the end of his school year and unable to see his family.”
On June 3, Alan reported to a federal center in the Bronx for a routine fingerprinting appointment as part of his pending status adjustment. Instead of processing his paperwork, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested him on the spot.
Since then, neither his attorney nor his family has been able to meet him in person. Sykes said he’s only been allowed video communication, while Alan’s father — who lives in Nanuet, Rockland County — was twice turned away from the Newark detention facility due to a lack of available visitation slots.
“It’s deeply ironic and troubling that his compliance with immigration procedures led to his arrest,” Sykes wrote in a June 24 letter to the local ICE field office in Newark, obtained by lohud.
What makes Alan’s case more complicated is the jurisdictional gap: because he was paroled at the border, ICE — not an immigration judge — has authority over his detention. That means no judge can currently issue a bond order for his release.
“It’s absurd,” Sykes said. “Any judge would have let him go. He has no criminal record.”
Sykes is now preparing to file a federal habeas corpus petition, a legal motion challenging the lawfulness of the young man’s detention. The process is lengthy and complex, but it may be the only avenue available to secure his release.
Meanwhile, Alan’s father has filed an I-130 family reunification petition and is working toward securing Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) for his son — a pathway available to undocumented minors under age 21 who are enrolled in school. But while Alan remains detained, he is unable to appear before a Rockland County judge, which is required to move the case forward.
Further complicating matters, ICE allegedly presented Alan with “voluntary departure” forms, offering him the option to leave the U.S. willingly. He reportedly refused to sign.
“That’s why legal representation is critical — and urgent — for detained individuals,” said Sykes, citing the constitutional right to effective counsel.
Alan’s father fears for his son’s life if he is deported to Haiti, a country now overwhelmed by gang violence, political collapse, and humanitarian crisis. The U.S. State Department currently maintains a Level 4 travel advisory for Haiti — the highest possible — warning Americans not to travel there under any circumstances.
In a tearful interview with The Journal News/lohud, Dutan Pierre, speaking through Reverend Jean Claude Dorcelly, described Alan as a “smart and kind young man.”
“It’s too sad,” he said in Haitian Creole. “If he goes back, he’ll be alone. The gangs have destroyed everything.”
Credit: USA Today
