A University at Buffalo (UB) fine arts student has been detained by immigration agents after appearing at a scheduled court hearing in New York City and is now being held at a correctional facility in Louisiana.
What happened: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers apprehended Jiaye You, a senior in UB’s BFA program in Art and Technology, after he attended an immigration hearing in Queens, according to reports. He was held at a New Jersey facility before being transferred to Jackson Parish Correctional Center in Jonesboro, Louisiana, with no release date set.
The circumstances around his detention have not been made public. Over the past year, masked ICE agents have adopted a practice of stationing themselves inside courthouses to detain immigrants following scheduled proceedings. You had called his parents to tell them about the transfer and reportedly described conditions at the Louisiana facility to a professor as “like a cage with over 50 people inside of it.”
About You: You had been preparing for his senior thesis exhibition. Speaking to WIVB, his professor, Matthew Kenyon, described him as “a very talented, smart, hardworking student” and “one of the best of our class.” In an email to UB’s The Spectrum, his father wrote, “At this moment, we feel helpless, anxious and deeply worried.” They declined to disclose his immigration status, citing concerns that doing so could affect his bond proceedings.
To help cover legal costs, Kenyon launched a GoFundMe page that has since raised over $26,000. Meanwhile, UB released a statement saying it is in contact with You’s family and lawyer and hopes “this matter will be resolved quickly so Jiaye can return to the university soon to complete his studies.”
Why this matters: You’s case is part of a broader pattern in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown that sweeps up immigrants who simply show up in courthouses or routine check-ins. We follow such cases here at The Rebel Yellow, including the detention of a Chinese man and his 6-year-old son during a scheduled check-in in New York City last Thanksgiving, which ultimately resulted in their deportation after weeks of separation.
For Asian Americans impacted by such practices, You’s case carries weight beyond immigration policy. It is the story of a student weeks away from graduation, separated from his campus and community, with his family left working to raise tens of thousands of dollars to bring him home. The steepest costs, legal and otherwise, tend to fall on those least equipped to bear them.
You is set for a bond hearing at an unspecified date.
This story is part of The Rebel Yellow Newsletter — a bold weekly newsletter from the creators of NextShark, reclaiming our stories and celebrating Asian American voices.
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