Deported SIJS holder returned to U.S. after settlement, reunites with daughter
Aug 5, 2026·Location: Raleigh, NC
Country of origin: Honduras

Jose Eliezer Martinez-Andino, a 20-year-old Honduran who came to the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor in 2020 and held Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, was detained by immigration officers in March while traveling through Montana for his job as an auto mechanic in Raleigh, North Carolina. Despite holding legal status that should have protected him from removal, he was held across multiple detention centers for over 10 days without access to his attorneys and was coerced into signing voluntary departure paperwork he says was never properly explained. He was deported to Honduras on April 10, separating him from his young U.S. citizen daughter. Federal Judge Beryl Howell found he had likely been denied due process and ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return. He was flown to McAllen, Texas in August but was then held for weeks by CBP and ICE at the Port Isabel Detention Center before his lawyers reached a settlement securing his release, allowing him to return to Raleigh to reunite with his family.
Timeline
Sources
- Judge orders DHS to return migrant deported to Honduras
Newsweek·Jul 27, 2026·archived copy
- The News & Observer
- Judge orders DHS to return deported Raleigh resident with a special legal status back to the U.S.
WUNC·Jun 24, 2026·archived copy
WFAE·Jun 24, 2026·archived copy
bpr.org·Jun 24, 2026·archived copy
- Wrongfully deported Raleigh man will soon return to NC and reunite with family
WUNC·Sep 14, 2026
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