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Mother deported after Memphis nightclub raid, four children left with grandmother

Sep 15, 2026·Location: Memphis, TN

Mother deported after Memphis nightclub raid, four children left with grandmother
Photo via wknofm.org

A woman working at El Corralón, an immigrant-owned nightclub and restaurant in Memphis, was arrested during a pre-dawn ICE raid on August 30 dubbed 'Operation Corral Light' and, due to a prior removal order, was flown to Honduras within days, reuniting there with her husband who had been deported the previous year after a traffic stop. Her four U.S.-citizen children remain in Memphis with their grandmother, who said the youngest wakes up crying for his mother while a 16-year-old has taken on helping raise the younger kids; reunification is complicated because no power of attorney was arranged and the children lack passports. The raid, initially targeting illegal gambling and a Honduran national suspected of running criminal activity, resulted in 121 arrests after agents corralled patrons and employees, checked immigration status, and zip-tied them onto buses while children screamed for detained parents. Only five of those arrested had criminal histories, and advocacy group Vecindarios 901 said it is working to identify detainees and connect families with attorneys. The ACLU of Tennessee, a state representative, and Memphis's mayor questioned whether the operation exceeded the scope of its gambling and narcotics warrants, and advocates alleged agents beat two security guards.

Timeline

Sep 15, 2026—Children left with grandmother in Memphis; advocacy groups and officials question scope of raid and report conditions of detainees
Sep 1, 2026—Mother flown to Honduras within days of arrest due to prior removal order, reuniting with husband deported the previous year
Aug 30, 2026—ICE and Tennessee agents raided El Corralón nightclub in Memphis, arresting 121 people including the mother
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