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6-year-old with leukemia held about a month in ICE detention

A 6-year-old Honduran boy with leukemia was arrested with his mother and sister outside a Los Angeles courtroom and held a month in Texas, missing a medical appointment. He showed trauma symptoms after returning home.

Jul 4, 2025Los Angeles, CACountry of origin: Honduras

6-year-old with leukemia held about a month in ICE detention
Photo via LAist

N.M.Z., a 6-year-old Honduran boy with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, was arrested by ICE agents along with his mother and 9-year-old sister outside a Los Angeles immigration courtroom on May 29, 2025, following an asylum hearing. He missed a scheduled medical appointment for worsening leukemia symptoms and was transported with his family to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas, where he developed easy bruising, bone pain, and loss of appetite during roughly a month in custody. Attorneys from Columbia Law School and the Texas Civil Rights Project filed a lawsuit arguing the arrests violated the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. ICE released the family without a court order, transferring them to a South Texas shelter before flying them to Los Angeles on July 2, 2025, where they reunited with relatives. The Department of Homeland Security said the boy had been examined multiple times in custody and denied medical neglect, while attorneys said public pressure contributed to the release; after returning home, the child showed severe trauma symptoms, including hiding from strangers and fear of anyone in uniform.

Timeline

Jul 2, 2025—ICE released the family without a court order, transferring them through a South Texas shelter before flying them back to Los Angeles to reunite with relatives
Jun 2025—Attorneys filed a lawsuit alleging the arrests violated the Fourth and Fifth Amendments
May 29, 2025—ICE agents arrested the boy, his mother, and his sister outside an LA immigration courtroom after an asylum hearing
May 29, 2025—Family transported to Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas; boy missed a scheduled medical appointment and developed worsening symptoms
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