Bronx nurse whose son was grabbed by ICE is Schumer's SOTU guest

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Feb 24, 2026

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NEW YORK — A Bronx nurse whose high school student son was grabbed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents last year will be a guest of Sen. Chuck Schumer at President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.

Raiza Contreras, 41, hopes her presence will spotlight what she calls the unjust treatment of her 21-year-old son, Dylan, who has been imprisoned since he was arrested after attending a routine immigration hearing.

“No mother should have to go through what Raiza is experiencing right now — being unjustly separated from her son,” Schumer, D-New York, said in a statement. “Dylan followed the rules. He entered through a legal process, obtained permission to work to support his family, enrolled in school, and showed up to court as required.”

“Instead, ICE ripped their family apart,” the Senate minority leader added.

Raiza Contreras, a legal immigrant from Venezuela, called her appearance at the nationally televised presidential speech a chance to “bring attention to the case and many other injustices happening.”

“It’s not just me,” she told USA Today, speaking in Spanish.

The mother of three is just one of many guests lawmakers on both sides of the aisle will bring to focus attention on political issues or causes they feel strongly about.

Several lawmakers are bringing victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s infamous sex-trafficking scheme to remind Americans of the lack of accountability for his crimes.

Some Republicans are bringing immigration agents to show off their support for the controversial mass deportation campaign that ensnared Dylan Contreras.

On Monday, Trump hosted several relatives of people who died in either crimes or car accidents blamed on undocumented immigrants, a group he has dubbed “Angel Families.”

Schumer says Dylan Contreras’ story should serve as a cautionary tale for the dangers of Trump’s crackdown.

Dylan Contreras entered the U.S. in 2024 legally under a humanitarian parole program while he applied for asylum, and reunited with his mother and two younger siblings.

He enrolled in a Bronx school for older students and started learning English while working as a delivery worker.

On May 21, Dylan Contreras attended what he thought would be a routine immigration hearing in Manhattan for his asylum claim. Instead he was busted by ICE and taken to a Pennsylvania detention center where he has been held ever since.