Chicago Public Schools senior and mother, seeking asylum, arrested by ICE agents

A Chicago high school senior getting ready to graduate and on the verge of playing college soccer next year is now sitting in an ICE detention center in Kentucky, where his mom is also being held at a separate facility. Their loved ones and attorneys are fighting for their release.

Ricardo Navarrete brought his love of soccer from Colombia to Chicago in 2022, after fleeing his native country with his mom Liliana.

Now 18, and a senior at Mather High School, where he felt like he belonged, his talent earned him a spot to keep playing at Truman College next year. 

"Just one of the guys, funny on the field, a really good soccer player, just really loved soccer and spent every second with a soccer ball at his feet," said Kristy Morrow, whose son plays soccer with Navarrete.

Navarrete and his mom were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in March during a scheduled check-in for their asylum case.

"They are not criminals. They've done nothing wrong," Morrow said.

 Since Navarrete's arrest, Morrow has started a fundraiser that's climbed over $50,000 to help cover legal fees and other expenses. She's also a determined advocate for the Navarretes' release.

"It is a full-time second job with a lot of overtime hours," Morrow said.

Speaking to CBS News Chicago from a Kentucky detention facility, Navarrete said, "every day it's hard to be here, because when you wake up you see the four big walls."

He's been separated from his mom because he's an adult. He said his faith has kept him going. 

"I like the opportunities that I have here, the opportunities that my family have here," he said.

Navarrete will make his first court appearance on Tuesday, and following a federal ruling that came down last week, non-citizens detained in Kentucky and several neighboring states are now eligible for bond—something his attorneys will now pursue.

"Liliana's right now is really, priority number one, because I want to get that bond hearing and hopefully get her out on bond before her final hearing," attorney Kelli Fennell said.

Attorneys for Navarrete and his mother argue they are being unlawfully detained.   

"You have an 18-year-old kid who's locked up with adults," Fennell said. "It's just a ridiculous waste of our resources."

 A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement, in part, "This administration is not going to ignore the rule of law."

 "We encourage all illegal aliens to take control of their departure with the CBP Home app," the department added.