Immigration officials detained a six-year-old child suffering from leukemia during an immigration hearing. The child's family is launching a lawsuit in response.

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A controversial lawsuit has been launched, targeting the Trump administration over the arrest of a Honduran mother and her two children - ages 6 and 9 - at Los Angeles Immigration Court. This is the first lawsuit to challenge the new ICE directive that targets courthouses.

The family had expected to continue their asylum case after fleeing Honduras due to threats of violence. However, they were swiftly dismissed from the court, and ICE agents awaited them outside, causing terror for the children and their mother.

Elora Mukherjee, director of the Immigrant Rights Clinic at Columbia Law School, described the ordeal, stating that the ICE agents were in civilian clothing, detained the family, and displayed a gun, leaving the 6-year-old boy terrified and wetting himself due to fear. The family was then taken to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas.

The 6-year-old boy, who is battling leukemia, has missed a crucial medical appointment for his worsening symptoms, according to the lawsuit filed by the Immigrant Rights Clinic and The Texas Civil Rights Project.

Kate Gibson Kumar, a staff attorney for the Texas Civil Rights Project Beyond Borders program, expressed outrage, stating, "The horrors that this family has suffered should never be felt by a child in need of medical care." She further added, "Arresting immigrants as they step out of a courtroom is a heinous display of disregard for humanity."

The family had stayed with a relative in Los Angeles for the previous seven months after legally crossing the border for a court appointment through the now-defunct CBP One App to seek asylum. They had been granted parole status in the U.S. while they awaited their day in immigration court.

The family's attorney, Elora Mukherjee, stated, "These are two children who were enrolled in a local public school in Los Angeles, where they focused on the arts. Both kids love painting. The little boy loved playing soccer in the park. The family attended church every Sunday." She further emphasized, "Their enforced disappearances by the U.S. government should shock all of us."

The lawsuit seeks the family's immediate release, arguing that the arrests violate the Fourth and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution - which guarantee due process and prevent unlawful seizures.

Mukherjee explained, "Arresting people without any due process, without any advance notice, without any opportunity to explain their circumstances, that violates the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment." The family has been placed in expedited removal, allowing for rapid deportation without a court hearing, raising concerns that they may be deported before their lawsuit is heard.

The lawsuit is part of ongoing legal challenges by immigrant rights groups against the Trump administration's fast-track deportation policy, which involves arresting immigrants at courthouses during their scheduled appointments. The policy risks stripping immigrants of their rights, as argued by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Conversely, the Trump administration has justified its enforcement policies, following a national emergency declaration at the southern border, by issuing new DHS and ICE guidelines to enforce civil immigration laws. These guidelines emphasize discretion and case-by-case decisions in enforcement actions but assert that courthouse arrests often reduce public safety risks and risk of flight[3].

The legal battle continues between the administration's enforcement policies and immigrant rights groups seeking to halt what they term illegal and fear-inducing courthouse arrests. Immigration courthouse arrests have prompted protests in Los Angeles, San Antonio, and across the country[2]. Additionally, immigration courts have recently been given new instructions related to handling cases affected by these policies[4].

Note: The specifics of the DHS and ICE guidelines, along with the courts' responses to these policies, are subjects of ongoing litigation and subject to change.

The controversial lawsuit filed by the Immigrant Rights Clinic and The Texas Civil Rights Project targets the Trump administration's government policies, specifically challenging the new ICE directive that encourages arrests at courthouses.
The community, including lawyers like Kate Gibson Kumar from The Texas Civil Rights Project Beyond Borders program, are outraged by the incidents of arresting immigrants as they step out of a courtroom, such as the case of a Honduran family with two children ages 6 and 9.
The lawsuit also raises concerns within the general-news community, with discussions centering on the legal ramifications of the arrests, including the potential violation of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments, and the consequent impact on crime-and-justice matters, as fast-track deportation policies may strip immigrants of their rights and escalate fear and unrest within communities.

Immigration officials detained a six-year-old child suffering from leukemia during an immigration hearing. The child's family is launching a lawsuit in response.