What happened:

Wildin was detained on his way to school by ICE and taken to a detainment center in Georgia. His community came together to argue for his right to finish his last semester of high school. He was eventually released after 6 months detainment. (Cummins, 2020).

Segment of Frank Stasio’s Interview with Wildin Acosta on The State of Things (Oct. 31st, 2016)

What his community did:

Source: Raleigh News & Observer

Held vigils, rallies, marches to the post office to send Wildin letters. They tried to find ways to send him school work. They went to visit him. They brought the issue to national attention and got Representative Butterfield to show his support. Some teachers took it to DC. Some went to visit him at the detention center. When the bond was named at $10,000, a GoFundMe raised the money in less than 48 hours (Cummins, 2020). 

Challenges they faced:

Source: Gerry Broome, The Nation

The principal didn’t like the attention his school was getting and didn’t really support the cause. Many teachers at the high school didn’t really believe Wildin had a right to his education due to his immigration status. The detainment center didn’t permit the teachers to send him materials to complete his schoolwork. The fight was long and stamina waned. When he did make it back, there was still the looming possibility of deportation back to the gang violence he escaped in Honduras and away from his family, and there was still the trauma behind him of his six months in the Detainment Center, and, of course, the challenges of studying as an ESL student. (Cummins, 2020).