HUMSI — Human Security Initiative

Human Impact Project

A living database documenting reported immigration enforcement incidents and their human impact.

Honduran mother reunited with breastfeeding baby after judge orders ICE release

Aug 25, 2026·Location: Austin, TX

Country of origin: Honduras

Honduran mother reunited with breastfeeding baby after judge orders ICE release
Photo via KUT

Patricia, a 19-year-old Honduran woman living in Austin, was separated from her 8-month-old breastfeeding son after she called 911 to report abuse by her boyfriend but was instead arrested on an assault charge. Prosecutors later dismissed the charge, but ICE took her into custody and held her nearly six weeks at the South Texas Detention Complex, where she suffered painful, swollen breasts and pleaded for a breast pump while her son stayed with a family friend. Patricia said she fled Honduras two years earlier after being raped by a gang member who continued to harass her, and that she had sought asylum in the U.S. Attorneys with the nonprofit American Gateways sued for her release, and U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia in San Antonio ruled that the government had violated the Constitution by detaining her without a hearing, ordering ICE to release her within two days. She was reunited with her son, but still faces a deportation order that her lawyers are appealing.

Timeline

Aug 24, 2026—Patricia was released from ICE custody and reunited with her son
Aug 23, 2026—U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia ruled the government violated the Constitution by detaining her without a hearing and ordered her release within two days
Aug 1, 2026—Patricia called 911 to report domestic abuse by her boyfriend and was instead arrested on an assault charge
Aug 1, 2026—ICE detained Patricia at the South Texas Detention Complex after prosecutors dismissed the assault charge, separating her from her breastfeeding infant
Suggest a correction, comment, or update

Sources

More incidents in Texas