An Ossining High School student and his mother were deported to their native Ecuador Friday after being denied a final appeal to stay in the United States.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 19-year-old Diego Puma and his mother two weeks ago for staying in the country after an immigration judge told them they had to leave in November 2016. The two arrived in the U.S. in 2014, trying to escape gang violence in Ecuador.

Following the arrest, Puma had been detained in Orange County and Louisiana. Puma and his mother arrived in Ecuador Friday afternoon.

Puma's cousin Gabriela Macancela has not lost hope for Diego.

"It can happen to anyone, and right now we lost our case," says Macancela. "But we hope many kids won't be quiet."

According to the Hudson Valley Community Coalition, the National Assembly of Ecuador is issuing Puma a scholarship to a university, plus emotional support for his family.

The family's legal counsel says in a statement: "We are deeply disappointed with the decision by ICE to move forward with the deportation to Ecuador of our client. Every call you made, every comment you posted in social media, every time you spoke up to educate a neighbor or offer encouragement to Diego, matters."