Children, Including Cancer-Stricken 4-Year-Old, Deported to Honduras
Two U.S. citizen children was sent on their mother’s deportation flight to Honduras without the opportunity to speak with attorneys, leaving a 4-year-old boy with Stage 4 cancer without access to his medication, according to the National Immigration Project. Gracie Willis, an attorney with the organization, told NBC News that the boy and and his 7-year-old sister were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday. They was taken to El Paso, Texas, and flown to Honduras first thing Friday morning, Willis said.
### Lack of Legal Representation
The 4-year-old boy, who was actively receiving treatment for a rare form of cancer, was flew to Honduras without his medication, according to Willis and the National Immigration Project. Attorneys were preparing a habeas corpus petition when the children were deported on an ICE charter flight before it could be filed, Willis said.
### Outrage from Advocates
Attorney Erin Hebert, who Willis said is representing the family, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. In a press release by the National Immigration Project, Hebert called the deportation of U.S. children “illegal, unconstitutional, and immoral.” Willis is representing a similar case involving the mother of a 2-year-old U.S. citizen who was deported with her child on Friday.
