By this time in May, Ricardo Hernandez-Navarrete expected to be preparing for his high school prom and training to play soccer in the fall at a local community college.
But the 18-year old Chicago Public Schools student’s plans are in jeopardy after he and his mother, Liliana, were arrested in mid-March by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at a routine check-in for the family’s asylum case.
Originally from Colombia, Ricardo and his mother came to the United States in 2022, when he was 15 years old. She filed for asylum and that petition remains pending, court records show.
Each of them was taken to Kentucky jails for detention, but the government separated them and is holding them in different facilities. For two months, the mother and son have had almost zero face-to-face contact, Ricardo told the Tribune in an interview from jail.
“I miss my mother,” he said. “I miss playing soccer.”
Attorneys for the mother and son have filed habeas corpus petitions in federal court seeking to have them released on bond while their immigration cases play out, a task complicated by the Trump administration’s efforts to hold more immigrants in detention while their cases unfold.
Since President Donald Trump took office, his administration has sought to expand the number of immigrants subject to mandatory detention. The government has long used detention as a tool to pressure immigrants into voluntarily leaving the country.
“Unfortunately, this is what’s becoming the norm and this is what we’re dealing with,” said Kelli Fennell, an attorney representing the family. “This is the first 18-year-old client I’ve had in this position but I’m sure he’s not the only one. It’s just ridiculous.”
Increased immigration enforcement over the past year has added strain for Chicago Public Schools students, who now balance their studies with concern about ICE agents roaming in their neighborhoods. Many parents of CPS students have been detained. But Ricardo is unique as a high school student taken into custody.
CPS said it does not track how many of its students, if any, have been detained.
Available ICE detention data, obtained by the research group Deportation Data Project, doesn’t offer the ages or birth dates of those detained. At best, it offers a birth year.
Using that, the Tribune found that, in 2025, more than 100 immigrants ages 18 and under were processed for detention at Chicago-area ICE facilities. Roughly half were picked up during the 64-day main surge of Operation Midway Blitz.
In 2026, through March 10, the Tribune found at least 20 more immigrants ages 18 and under had been detained by ICE. The federal government has not released more timely data, which would cover the period since mid-March, when court records say that Ricardo was arrested.
Beyond that, the federal data doesn’t offer more detail on where the teens and preteens were arrested, or under what precise circumstances.
Ricardo, a student at Mather High School in West Ridge, is a well-liked member of the community who also plays soccer with iProSkills Academy, where he is a valued contributor, his coach said. Mather’s soccer team Instagram account said he committed to play for the Truman College soccer team in the fall.
A CPS spokeswoman said the district could not comment due to privacy laws. Traditionally, the district would need to receive parental approval, but Ricardo’s mother is also in jail.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed arresting Ricardo and his mother.
“This administration is not going to ignore the rule of law,” the department said in a statement that did not address why it was seeking their continued detention. “We encourage all illegal aliens to take control of their departure with the CBP Home App.”
Speaking from the Kenton County Detention Center, Ricardo said he and his mother went to downtown Chicago for an appointment with immigration officials. His asylum case is tied to his mother’s because he was a minor when they petitioned. An older brother’s case is legally separate.
Under Trump, ICE agents across the country have repeatedly arrested people during normal check-ins. Someone Ricardo knew had recently gone to a visit without incident, so he and his mother felt confident, he said.
Neither he nor his mother had a criminal record or reason to worry, he said. Attorneys for the mother and son said in federal court filings that they don’t have criminal records in the United States.
“We went, we got to the building … and we waited to see someone. They took me in first, they asked for my passport, and then I was with the ICE agent for about 15 minutes,” Ricardo said. “Someone else went for my mom. They brought her into the room. That’s when the ICE agent told her to tell us in Spanish that we were being arrested by ICE, that we could no longer escape. They took our papers, my work permit, my REAL ID. We had done everything by the rules.”
It’s unclear how many immigrants have been arrested at routine check-ins. But Ariel Ruiz Soto, a senior policy analyst with the Migration Policy Institute, said it’s generally advisable for people to attend their check-ins despite the risk of arrest.
Missing an appointment can increase the risk of deportation, he said.
For Ricardo, the check-in arrest set off a nightmare.
His first phone call after his arrest went to Costel Serban, his coach, who said he first met the young Colombian about three years ago in winter when he arrived on foot at their training field. He had walked several miles in the cold to come to practice.
“I said, ‘What do you mean, you walked?’ It was the coldest day of the year. He told me he found me online, he walked from Edgewater to Irving Park and Elston,” Serban said. “I knew this was crazy, for a kid who’s 15 to walk. I said, why? He said, ‘I don’t have a way to get here. But I love soccer and I wanted to train.’”
Ricardo shared his family’s story of coming from Colombia and applying for asylum, then talked about his passion for fútbol, Serban said.
“He loves soccer, he wants to train. But the main reason he’s there is he wants to meet people,” Serban recalled. “He knows through soccer he wants to meet people. He wanted guidance to help his brother and mom to navigate the United States, to survive here.”
Ricardo’s dream was to graduate from high school and keep playing soccer in the fall, Serban said. He was en route to doing both, until ICE agents arrested him.
Serban helped connect Ricardo with lawyers who are fighting for him and his mother to be released in Kentucky. They are also attempting to win their asylum case. A community of supporters have rallied to help Ricardo and his mother, including by launching a GoFundMe aimed at raising money for legal expenses.
Kristy Morrow, whose son plays soccer with Ricardo, launched the GoFundMe because she said the family’s detention is unfair. The fundraiser has raised more than $50,000 to help with legal fees, phone cards and living expenses for Ricardo’s older brother, whose legal case is separate because he came into the U.S. as an adult.
For his part, Ricardo told the Tribune the situation has been painful to live through. He said ICE has transported him and his mother across the country to different states, including Louisiana, and at one point he was placed into solitary confinement for unclear reasons. Being in detention plays tricks on your mind, Ricardo said. The bathrooms are filthy, there isn’t privacy.
“In truth, I never thought I’d be in a place like this,” Ricardo said.
He passes time in detention by reading the Bible and praying for his release.
“I feel depressed. I feel anxious every day,” Ricardo said. “But with the hand of God, I know I will be released.”
Chicago Tribune reporter Joe Mahr contributed.
