A Honduran woman who is seeking asylum in the United States has filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of her and her family’s detention at a Texas facility.
The woman, along with her 6-year-old son who is battling leukemia and his 9-year-old sibling, were detained after the three attended their May 29 immigration hearing in Los Angeles. Attorneys for the family say they could be deported at any time, despite their attempt to seek asylum in the U.S.
The 6-year-old, identified as N.M.Z in a habeas corpus complaint, was diagnosed in Honduras with acute lymphoblastic leukemia when he was 3 and has undergone two of the required two-and-a-half years of treatment, according to the court filing. Due to his detention, he missed a scheduled medical appointment on June 5.
The mother is now suing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security and the Trump administration for her immediate release, along with the release of her two children.
The mother claims the government violated many of their rights, including the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment. This is the first lawsuit challenging ICE arrests of children pursuant to a new ICE directive encouraging courthouse arrests.
“A federal district court has already ruled that the ICE courthouse arrest policy announced last month is illegal and unconstitutional and I think applying it to children is particularly abhorrent and unconscionable,” said attorney Elora Mukherjee, a Columbia Law professor and member of the team representing the family.
Attorneys noted that DHS determined the mother was not a flight risk when she was paroled into the country, and that her detention was unjustified.
They also argued that she was not given an opportunity to contest her family’s detention in front of a neutral party.
“The horrors that this family has suffered should never be felt by a child in need of medical care. Arresting immigrants as they step out of a courtroom is a heinous display of disregard for humanity. This family came to the United States seeking safety, but inhumane policies are preventing them from seeking necessary medical care for their child,” Kate Gibson Kumar, an attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, said in a statement provided to KTLA.
The Texas Civil Rights Project said the family was placed in expedited removal, which allows for rapid deportation without a court hearing. The family’s attorneys fear they could be deported before their lawsuit is heard.
This mother and her children were granted legal entry to the U.S. during the Biden administration.
The Trump administration has set a goal of 3,000 immigration arrests per day, or 1 million people per year, claiming that it is targeting violent criminals. ICE data obtained by the Cato Institute show that more than 93% of immigrants arrested this fiscal year were never convicted of any violent offenses.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to our request for comment at the time of publishing this article.
