A two-month-old boy with bronchitis was deported to Mexico with his mother and sister shortly after being released from a Texas hospital, sparking outrage from Democratic lawmakers. The infant, Juan Nicolas, was the youngest detainee at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center and was rushed to hospital on Monday night after becoming unresponsive, according to Representative Joaquin Castro.
Despite being discharged hours later, the family was removed to Mexico on Tuesday night following an immigration court judge's order. Castro described the deportation as “heinous,” stating that the family was “abandoned” with only $190 saved from a commissary account. The mother, Mireya Lopez-Sanchez, told Univision that her son was “choking on his own vomit” in hospital and that she feared ICE would deny him medicine.
ICE spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin defended the removal, stating that the baby was “stable and medically cleared” and that parents are given the choice to take their child or designate a caregiver. She added that pediatricians provided a nasal saline spray and bulb syringe for continued care. However, critics argue that detaining and deporting a sick infant violates basic humanitarian principles.
The case highlights the growing number of children held in immigration detention. According to The Marshall Project, at least 3,800 minors, including 20 infants, were in ICE custody last year. Internal ICE policy states that pregnant, postpartum, or nursing individuals “should not be detained” except in exceptional circumstances, yet advocates report dozens of such cases.
This incident follows a federal judge's rebuke of the administration for transferring a nursing refugee mother out of state, calling it “particularly craven.” The Dilley facility, run by private prison firm CoreCivic, has held families since the Obama administration.
