Eight-Year-Old Haitian Boy Taken Into Federal Custody in San Diego
The third grader, who attended Fay Elementary School, went to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement check-in with his uncle. ICE took him into custody and transferred him to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is caring for him. His current location has not been disclosed by the Department of Health and Human Services.
The boy lived with his uncle and cousins after his father was sent back to Mexico last year. The school district said the uncle was listed in school records as an authorized caregiver. ICE said the man could not establish legal guardianship; DHS also said he was not the child’s family member. The agencies have not alleged wrongdoing or abuse by the uncle.
ICE said it moved the child to federal care out of concern for his safety and treated him as an unaccompanied child under a federal law providing protections for such children. The boy lost Temporary Protected Status earlier this year. Advocates and school officials have raised concerns about his separation from relatives and the disruption to his schooling. The school district urged federal officials to address the child’s care and said children should not lose access to education because of surrounding circumstances.
The boy remains in federal custody, and it is unclear whether he will be removed from the United States. DHS has not disclosed his place of detention.
Federal Custody Separates Haitian Boy From His Caregiver
An 8-year-old Haitian boy is out of school and in federal custody after ICE separated him from the uncle he lived with. The child attended a check-in with his uncle in San Diego on November 5; agents took him away and transferred him to the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
The boy’s father was sent back to Mexico last year, and the child lived with his uncle and cousins. School officials said the uncle was listed as an authorized caregiver in school records. Advocates say the family had not been given a chance to establish legal guardianship before the boy was taken. ICE says the uncle could not establish guardianship, while DHS says he was not a family member; neither agency has alleged abuse or wrongdoing.
The government says it acted to protect the child and classified him as an unaccompanied child under federal law. But that rationale has left an elementary-school student separated from relatives and his daily routine. The school district has warned of the emotional toll and disruption to his education, and says children should not lose access to school because of circumstances surrounding them.
The boy remains in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. His location has not been disclosed, and it is unclear whether he will be removed from the United States.
ICE Places Haitian Child in Federal Care After Guardianship Question
ICE placed an 8-year-old boy in federal care after determining that the uncle who brought him to an immigration check-in could not establish legal guardianship. The child was transferred to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, where he remains, after agents acted out of concern for his safety.
DHS said the man was not the boy’s family member or legal guardian. School officials, meanwhile, said he was recorded as an authorized caregiver and that the child had lived with him and cousins since his father was sent back to Mexico last year. The agencies have not alleged that the uncle harmed or abused the boy.
Federal law provides protections for children classified as unaccompanied, and ICE treated the boy under that framework after the guardianship issue arose. The decision has drawn criticism from advocates and the school district, which says the separation is disrupting the student’s education and routine. Those concerns matter, but they do not resolve the legal-care question that ICE says prompted the transfer.
The child remains in federal custody. His location has not been disclosed, and it is unclear whether he will be removed from the United States.
Reported by ABC News, WXYZ Detroit, NBC News, The Guardian, Newsweek.
