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Kansas father detained at job site, deported to Mexico after 18-day detention ordeal

Sep 4, 2026·Location: Lawrence, KS

Country of origin: Mexico

Kansas father detained at job site, deported to Mexico after 18-day detention ordeal
Photo via hoodline.com

Oscar Sanchez-Corona, a 36-year-old construction worker who was brought to the U.S. as an infant and grew up attending Shawnee Mission schools, was detained by ICE agents on August 18 while pouring concrete at a job site in Lawrence, Kansas, shackled in front of coworkers. Over 18 days he was transferred through Leavenworth's Midwest Regional Reception Center, Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana, and a facility in El Paso, Texas, describing leaking ceilings, understaffed units, inadequate food, denial of contact lens solution, and witnessing other detainees struggle to get insulin; he said he lost eight pounds. He was ultimately deported on foot into Juarez, Mexico, separating him from the two elementary school-aged children he shares custody of in Johnson County. DHS cited reinstatement of a prior removal order tied to a teenage misdemeanor property-damage charge, a 2013 deportation after failing to comply with a voluntary departure order, illegal re-entry, and convictions for drug paraphernalia possession, criminal property damage, and driving without a license. A family friend, Skylar Roush, described him as 'a regular American guy' who lived a peaceful life as a worker and father, and his daughter drew a picture asking ICE not to take him away.

Timeline

Sep 4, 2026—Transferred through detention facilities in Leavenworth, Kansas; Winnfield, Louisiana; and Texas over 18 days
Sep 4, 2026—Deported on foot into Juarez, Mexico, separating him from his two children
Aug 18, 2026—Detained by ICE agents while working at a construction job site in Lawrence, Kansas
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