UB student detained by ICE denied bond

A UB student detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement remains in a Louisiana detention facility after his bond was denied last Monday. 

His family says he has a “very small chance” of continuing to live in the U.S. past his asylum hearing April 20. 

Jiaye You, a senior fine arts major, was deemed a “flight risk” by Judge Jacob Bashore after a bond hearing last Monday morning at Oakdale Immigration Court despite numerous letters from UB students, faculty and administration on his behalf, according to Matt Kenyon, You’s arts professor who was listed, but wasn’t called on, as a character reference for the hearing. 

Bashore did not say why, Kenyon said. 

“It’s ridiculous, because part of our argument was that if he posts bond, he can return and finish his studies,” Kenyon said. “He’s very invested in his degree and his community.”

A bond is a payment to the federal government that temporarily releases a person from detainment, acting as a promise that the person would show up to court hearings. If a judge believes someone will not attend, they can deem the person a “flight risk” and set higher bonds or deny it entirely. 

You was upset when he called Kenyon with the news, Kenyon said. You said the facility’s food was “really bad” and that he had to sleep in a room with a hundred people inside, forced to wake at 5:00 a.m. everyday. 

You then asked how he can complete his studies, Kenyon said.

“I tried to reassure him that he has our full support and to focus on keeping himself safe and keeping his spirits up,” Kenyon said. “We’ll support him to complete his degree in any way we can.”

ICE officers detained You early March after a routine immigration hearing in New York City. You spent the next week and a half in a detention facility in New Jersey, before being transferred on March 18 to the Jackson Parish Correctional Center in Jonesboro, Louisiana.

You’s immigration status was not disclosed to The Spectrum. 

You’s family told The Spectrum Tuesday that Kaihsuan Ai, the lawyer representing You before the hearing, did not consult You or them prior; and that they will be pursuing new legal counsel for the asylum hearing.

Several lawyers told You’s family that the chances of You staying are slim.

You lived with his family for seven years.  

“We want him to stay with us and live a happy life! He is a good son and a good student,” his family wrote in an email to The Spectrum. “He just wants to continue to finish his studies! Go to work smoothly and live happily with your family!”

ICE did not respond to The Spectrum’s 15 requests for comment.

You’s artwork will be displayed in MEMORIA, the senior thesis exhibition he was preparing for before his detainment. In his artist statement, the project’s theme is the “difficulty of taking the first step” where You arranged foot forms of alginate and plaster to suggest the “moment before movement,” wrapping them in materials lik data cables to introduce “something that holds the body back or complicates the first step.” 

“This idea arose from reflecting on how, in making any decision or doing anything, including this project, I’ve always struggled to take the first step,” You wrote. “Through these forms, I want the viewer to feel both the weight of hesitation and the effort it takes to move forward. Rather than offering a solution, the work stays with that moment of tension, and I hope it can still encourage someone to push through it.”

Justin Jimenez, You’s classmate, said You was a “valued member of this department.” 

“It is disappointing to know he won’t be able to display the work he has been working on alongside the rest of us in thesis,” Jimenez, a senior fine arts major, wrote in an email to The Spectrum.

Lily McDonough, another classmate, called You a “very kind and gentle person.”

“I didn’t have many conversations with him, but he didn’t deserve this,” McDonough, a senior fine arts major, said. 

UB’s College of Arts and Sciences Dean Jeffrey Grabill held a meeting with art department students March 24 on You’s situation, with the conversation turning into a “heated discussion,” Jimenez said.

“To me, it seemed this was simply for PR and for the university to be able to say they advocate/listen to our students,” Jimenez wrote. 

Jimenez had publicly criticized the university’s silence in an Instagram story that was shared by UB’s arts department April 3. 

Thomas Walsh called the conversation “corporate talk.”

“And I say to students with this dean, ‘Good luck. Good luck at UB. Good luck,’” Walsh, a senior fine arts major, said.

A university spokesperson told The Spectrum that the International Student Services office connected You’s family with an interpreter to serve as a liaison with legal counsel and a new immigration attorney in Louisiana.

Specific details about You, his case and what the university is doing behind the scenes are withheld due to federal privacy laws, the family’s desire for privacy and to ensure that the release of sensitive information would not interfere with the case, the spokesperson said. 

“The university offers sincere gratitude to faculty, staff and students who have demonstrated and expressed their concern and support for Jiaye during this difficult ordeal,” the statement read. “We also understand and appreciate that UB community members have a desire to know every detail of Jiaye’s case and to be informed of the university’s response.”

You’s family says they can’t predict what will happen during the asylum hearing, but are trying to maintain an “optimistic attitude and look forward to more positive results.”

“We sincerely thank everyone who supported and helped Jiaye during this period,” the email read. “This is a blessing that we can't foresee. Please pray for him in your heart.”

Nadia Bangaroo contributed to the reporting of this article.

Beyonce Thomas-Reynoso is the podcast editor and can be reached at beyonce.thomas@ubspectrum.com. 

Mylien Lai is the senior news editor and can be reached at mylien.lai@ubspectrum.com.  

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