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Alim Garipov, a Bellaire High School student detained by ICE agents Friday night, has been released from custody, according to a lawmaker, the boy's family and his attorney.
Garipov was released and reunited with his family Monday, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher said in a joint statement with Garipov's family and Olsa Alikaj-Cano, an immigration attorney.
The statement gave credit to a "tireless, expeditious effort over the weekend," of officials, locals and advocates pressing for the 18-year-old's release after he was detained by agents at Hobby Airport.
Garipov, who will be a senior this fall, moved to the United States from Balsati, a settlement in south central Russia in May 2022. Garipov and his family came to the U.S. seeking asylum. His asylum case is pending.
"So many people across our city - his friends, teachers, coaches and so many others - rallied behind Alim in support, and those who know him know it's easy to understand why," the statement read. "He is an extraordinary young man with a bright future ahead of him. He loves his family and this country and he has done everything the right way, legally, throughout this process."
Ann Linsley, a teacher at Bellaire High School, said over the weekend that Garipov is one of the school's top students, who taught himself English and computer programming. He was a captain of the school's swim team and president of the Russian Student Association.
Linsley said dozens of students, classmates and members of the Bellaire community wrote letters of support for Garipov.
"He's just a gem," Linsley said. "He's an ideal kid."
Garipov had recently learned to code and begun volunteering at Rice University's Biodesign Lab. Although he just started in June, he had already made an impression on his labmates and mentors, said Matthew Bennet, the lab's principal investigator. Bennett said several of his new colleagues also wrote letters of support and that he'd hoped Garipov would eventually attend Rice after graduation.
"They immediately emailed me back saying, ‘What can we do? We need to help,'" Bennett said. "They really think the most of Alim."
An ICE spokesperson said in a statement late Saturday that Garipov was admitted into the U.S. on May 7, 2022, as a non-immigrant with permission to remain in the country no later than Nov. 6, 2022, but he failed to depart.
Linley said Garipov's parents and younger sister were with him when he was detained, but only he was taken into custody. Linsley said the family was traveling to visit colleges on the East Coast when he was detained at the airport.
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