Family sues Trump administration after 6-year-old boy with leukemia arrested
Family sues Trump administration after 6-year-old boy with leukemia arrested
A Honduran mother and her two children—ages six and nine—are suing the Donald Trump administration after they were arrested at the Los Angeles Immigration Court.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Antonio, challenges a new directive by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) targeting courthouses.
The family had been seeking asylum in the US since October last year due to threats of violence in Honduras.
They were granted parole status while they awaited their immigration court date.
Incident described as 'terrifying' for children
But the family's asylum case was abruptly dismissed on May 29, and they were detained by ICE agents as they exited the courthouse.
Elora Mukherjee from Columbia Law School's Immigrant Rights Clinic described the incident as terrifying for the children.
"They were crying in fear. One of the agents at one point lifted up his shirt, which displayed the gun that he was carrying," Mukherjee said.
'No one offered him a change of clothing'
She added that the six-year-old boy, who has leukemia, was so terrified to see the gun that he urinated on himself and wet all his clothing.
"No one offered him a change of clothing for many hours," she said.
According to a lawsuit filed in federal court in San Antonio by the Immigrant Rights Clinic and the Texas Civil Rights Project, the six-year-old boy has even failed to show up for a medical visit to be treated for deteriorating symptoms.
Family detained at immigration processing center in Texas
The family is currently detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas.
The lawsuit seeks the family's immediate release, arguing that their detention violates the Fourth and Fifth Amendments of the US Constitution.
Kate Gibson Kumar from the Texas Civil Rights Project called their arrest "a heinous display of disregard for humanity."
The family's attorneys are concerned they could be deported before their case is heard due to expedited removal procedures.
Target to arrest 3,000 per day
In an effort to target violent offenders, the Trump administration has set a target of 3,000 immigration arrests each day, or one million annually.
However, the Cato Institute, which reviewed ICE data, said that more than 93 percent of immigrants apprehended this fiscal year were never convicted of any violent offenses.