Family of Migrants Files Lawsuit Over US Detention, Potentially Marking First Legal Battle Regarding Courtroom Arrests Involving Minors
In a Texas immigration detention center, a family of three, including two young kids, are locked in a battle against the Trump administration's policy on immigrant arrests. The family, who fled Honduras and legally entered the US, is the first to challenge this policy in a lawsuit, alleging violations of their Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights.
This lawsuit, filed by lawyers like Elora Mukherjee from Columbia Law School, asserts that the family's arrests, following their arrival in the US using the CBP One app, are unconstitutional. The legal argument states that their Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures and their Fifth Amendment right to due process have been infringed upon.
Mukherjee contends that the executive branch cannot arbitrarily seize, arrest, and detain individuals who comply with government requirements. Regrettably, the Department of Homeland Security has yet to respond to the email requesting comment.
Since May, the country has witnessed widespread arrests at courthouses, with asylum-seekers often detained after their court hearings as part of the White House's mass deportation effort. During these proceedings, a judge might grant the government's request to dismiss deportation proceedings, and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers would subsequently arrest the individual and place them on "expedited removal," a fast track to deportation.
This lawsuit marks the first instance of a lawsuit filed on behalf of children to challenge the ICE courthouse arrest policy. By July 1, the government must respond to the legal action. While there have been previous similar lawsuits in New York, a federal judge recently ruled that federal immigration authorities cannot make civil arrests at the state's courthouses or arrest anyone attending a proceeding there.
The Texas lawsuit uses initials for the children and "Ms. Z" for the mother to protect their identities due to safety concerns. For weeks, the mother has witnessed her 6-year-old son's health deteriorate while residing in the Dilley Immigration Processing Center — he underwent chemotherapy for leukemia but missed a check-up due to his arrest.
The mother, son, and 9-year-old daughter fled Honduras in October 2024 due to death threats. They entered the US using the CBP One app, were paroled into the country by the Department of Homeland Security, and were told to appear at a Los Angeles immigration court on May 29. President Trump ended CBP One for new entrants in January 2023 after more than 900,000 people had been allowed into the country using the app since its expansion.
During the family's hearing, the mother attempted to inform the judge that they wished to continue their cases for asylum. However, Homeland Security moved to dismiss their cases, and the judge immediately granted that motion. Upon exiting the courtroom, they were apprehended by men believed to be ICE agents. The family spent approximately 11 hours at an immigrant processing center in Los Angeles and were offered minimal food and drink.
At one point, an officer near the boy allegedly lifted his shirt, revealing his gun, causing the boy to urinate on himself and leave him in wet clothing until the following morning. Eventually, they were transferred to the processing center where they remain today.
"The family is suffering in this immigration detention center," said Mukherjee. "The kids cry every night. They’re praying to God for their release from this detention center." Their lawyers have filed an appeal of the immigration judge's May decision, but the family is at risk of deportation within days due to expedited removal proceedings.
Attorney Kate Gibson Kumar of the Texas Civil Rights Project, who is also representing the family, asserted that the arrests of the family were illegal and unjustified. "The essential question in our case is, when you have these families who are doing everything right, especially with young children, should there be some protection there?" Gibson Kumar questioned. "We say 'yes.'"
- The Texas lawsuit, filed by Elora Mukherjee and Kate Gibson Kumar, alleges that the arbitrary arrest and detention of the family, consisting of a mother, a 6-year-old son, and a 9-year-old daughter, who are US residents and seeking asylum, is a violation of their Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights, and is part of the general-news discussion in the United States.
- The proceedings in this case, which involves a lawsuit challenging the ICE courthouse arrest policy, bring into question the legality and fairness of targeting families, particularly those with young children like the family in this lawsuit, in crime-and-justice matters, and raise concerns about the protection and due process for such families in US politics.
