Child With Leukemia Held in ICE Custody, Lawsuit Claims Rights Violation
A federal lawsuit was filed against the Trump administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following the arrest and month-long detention of a 6-year-old Honduran boy with leukemia, his 9-year-old sister, and their mother. The family, who had been granted parole after legally seeking asylum via the CBP One app, was apprehended by plainclothes agents at a Los Angeles immigration court under a controversial courthouse arrest directive. While detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas, the child reportedly missed critical medical appointments, exhibiting concerning symptoms such as bone pain and bruising. RAICES played a pivotal role as co-counsel in the litigation, working alongside the Texas Civil Rights Project and the Columbia Law School Immigrant Rights Clinic to challenge the constitutional violations and highlight the "inadequate and disorganized" pediatric health care within the facility. Due to intense public pressure and legal intervention, the family was eventually released from custody to continue their search for safety and medical treatment.
