ICE Arrests Teen Hours Before His Prom

Hilary Hanson

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials detained a Westchester County, New York, teenager on Thursday, the morning of his high school prom and days before his graduation.

Diego Ismael Puma Macancela, 19, fled Ecuador with his mother in 2014 because of gang violence, NBC 4 New York reported. He is now a senior at Ossining High School and was set to graduate on June 17.

Puma Macancela’s mother was detained on Wednesday, prompting him to flee to his cousin’s apartment. ICE officials showed up at the apartment the next day and arrested him.

“He didn’t do anything wrong, he was just doing the best he could for his future,” his cousin, Gabriela Macancela, told NBC.

ICE said in a statement that an immigration judge had issued an order of removal for the teen in November, and that the agency notified local police when they would be in area “conducting targeted enforcement actions.”

However, Ossining Mayor Victoria Gearity told USA Today that ICE never notified local police.

U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey, a Democrat whose district includes the high school, issued a statement requesting ICE to hold off on the teen’s deportation so he can graduate. New York State Assemblymember Francisco Moya also spoke out against the arrest, calling ICE protocol “unhinged.”

An online petition demanding Puma Macancela be spared from deportation had more than 12,000 supporters as of Sunday evening.

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Reform Would Help Curb The Deficit

Immigration reform would <a href="http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-04-08/business/38371503_1_previous-immigration-bills-immigration-reform-immigration-laws" target="_blank">reduce the federal deficit by $2.5 trillion</a> over 10 years, according to an analysis by the American Action Forum, a conservative think tank.

Expelling Immigrants Is Expensive

Expelling the approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants currently in the United States would cost $2.6 trillion over 10 years, <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/100449802" target="_blank">according to CNBC</a>. That's because it costs the government more than $8,000 to deport each person.

Reform Would Help Fix The Social Security Problem

Immigration reform would help bolster Social Security because more legal workers would mean more people contributing payroll taxes to its trust fund, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20130508/us-immigration/?utm_hp_ref=arts&ir=arts" target="_blank">according to an analysis from the Social Security administration</a>. Undocumented workers <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/18/immigration-reform-social-security_n_3103500.html" target="_blank">already contribute $15 billion per year</a> to Social Security.

Immigrants Start Successful Businesses

More than <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/01/31/worried-about-the-economy-then-pass-immigration-reform/" target="_blank">a quarter of technology and engineering firms</a> started between 1995 and 2005 had a foreign-born owner, according to The Washington Post. One <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/22/american-companies-founded-by-immigrants_n_3116172.html#slide=2357880" target="_blank">of the founders of Yahoo!</a>, Jerry Yang, is an immigrant from Taiwan.

Reform Would Save $410 Billion Over 10 Years

The immigration reform bill proposed by the "gang of eight" senators would save <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/15/immigration-reform-save-billions_n_3280145.html?utm_hp_ref=business" target="_blank"> $410 billion over a decade</a>, according to an analysis from Gordon Gray, the director of fiscal policy at the American Action Forum. The savings would come largely from a boost in GDP resulting from undocumented immigrants gaining citizenship and in turn likely making more money.

High-Tech Companies Say Reform Would Boost Their Bottom Line

Companies like Microsoft and Google have said that immigration reform would help them by <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2013/01/29/facebook-microsoft-back-senate.html" target="_blank">allowing for more H1B visas</a>, a special kind of visa geared toward highly skilled immigrants. The tech giants say they can't find enough qualified people in the U.S. to fill their staffing needs.

Reform Would Boost The Wages Of Native-Born Workers

U.S.-born workers see between a 0.1 and 0.6 percent boost in wages on average with an increase in immigration, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/30/immigration-reform-workers_n_2583576.html" target="_blank">according to a report from the Hamilton Project</a>, an economic policy initiative of the nonpartisan Brookings Institution. That's because immigrant workers bring skills with them that complement those of native-born workers, leading to new jobs.

Immigrants Are Entrepreneurial

Immigrants are <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/03/13/economic-case-commonsense-immigration-reform" target="_blank">more than twice as likely</a>&nbsp;as native-born Americans to start new businesses, according to a White House report on immigration reform.

Reform Would Boost GDP By More Than $1 Trillion Over 10 Years

Immigration reform <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/100449802" target="_blank">would boost GDP by $1.5 trillion</a> -- or about 1 percent -- over 10 years, according to an estimate from UCLA professor Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda cited by CNBC.

Immigrants Create Jobs

Businesses owned by immigrants <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/03/13/economic-case-commonsense-immigration-reform" target="_blank">created 4.7 million jobs</a> in the U.S. in 2007, according to a White House report on immigration reform.

Reform Would Bring In More Money Than It Costs In Benefits

Though many critics of immigration reform argue against the cost of providing increased public benefits, analysts say higher spending is not a likely consequence. A Congressional Budget Analysis of George W. Bush's 2007 immigration reform proposal found that it would cost the government $23 billion in more public services, but bring in $48 billion in revenue, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/01/31/worried-about-the-economy-then-pass-immigration-reform/" target="_blank">according to The Washington Post</a>.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.