ICE arrested a 6-year-old boy with Leukemia at immigration court. His family is suing

Source: Texas Public Radio/NPR

Published June 25, 2025 at 11:06 PM CDT


A Honduran mother and her two children — ages six and nine — have sued the Trump administration over their arrest at Los Angeles Immigration Court, the first lawsuit challenging the arrests of children under a new ICE directive targeting courthouses.

The mother brought her two children to the immigration court on May 29 expecting to continue to make a case for asylum after fleeing Honduras due to threats of violence. But like many other immigrants across the country, they were surprised to see their case quickly dismissed as ICE agents waited for them to step out of the courthouse into the hallway.

"There were men waiting for them in civilian clothing. The men [ICE agents] detained the family for many hours, and it was a terrifying time for the two children and their mother," said Elora Mukherjee, director of the Immigrant Rights Clinic at Columbia Law School. "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. "The six-year-old boy was terrified to see the gun. He urinated on himself, and wet all his clothing. No one offered him a change of clothing for many hours."

The family was then transported to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas, where they have been detained for several weeks. The six-year-old boy has been diagnosed with Leukemia and has missed a medical appointment to be treated for worsening symptoms, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in San Antonio by the Immigrant Rights Clinic and The Texas Civil Rights Project.

Read more: https://www.tpr.org/border-immigration/2025-06-25/ice-arrested-a-6-year-old-boy-with-leukemia-at-immigration-court-his-family-is-suing