L.A. Leukemia: Mom Sues to Halt Deportation
A Honduran mother is taking a stand, suing ICE to halt the deportation of her son, a 6-year-old battling leukemia.The lawsuit, filed in San Antonio, details the family’s harrowing experience of immigration detention and the detrimental impact on the boy’s health and cancer treatment. The woman, an asylum applicant, is fighting against the legal challenges which include detention in a Texas facility, and also alleges rights violations. Learn how the family was arrested after a hearing and transported away from their Los Angeles home. News Directory 3 is committed to bringing you these critical updates. Discover what’s next in this urgent legal battle and the fight for medical care.
Honduran Mother Sues ICE Over Detention of Son with Cancer
updated June 27, 2025
A Honduran woman seeking asylum in the U.S. has filed a lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the previous governance, demanding her immediate release and that of her two children. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Antonio, highlights the plight of her 6-year-old son, who is battling cancer, and the family’s immigration detention.
The woman, whose name was not released in court documents, is challenging the legality of her family’s detention at a Texas facility. She is seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent their deportation to Honduras. According to court documents,her children are distressed,praying nightly for release from the holding facility. The asylum applicant and her children face two concurrent removal proceedings: one related to their initial asylum request and a second, more recent expedited removal process.
The lawsuit alleges multiple rights violations,including breaches of the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause and the fourth Amendment right against unlawful arrest. Attorneys for the mother argue that DHS previously determined she was not a flight risk when she was paroled into the country, rendering her current detention unjustified. They also contend that she was denied the opportunity to contest her family’s detention before a neutral adjudicator.
The woman is represented by the Texas Civil Rights Project,the Refugee and Immigrant center for Education and Legal Service (RAICES Texas),and other advocacy groups.An email seeking comment from DHS after hours was not promptly answered.
A central concern of the lawsuit is the health of the woman’s son.Diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at age 3, he has undergone extensive chemotherapy, including injections into his cerebrospinal fluid.While his mother believes he is currently free of leukemia cells, he requires regular monitoring and medical care.The family fled Honduras last year after receiving death threats. They sought entry into the U.S., receiving a CBP One app appointment in October to apply for asylum. After processing at the border, they were paroled into the U.S.
The family relocated to Los Angeles to live with relatives, where the children enrolled in school and began learning English. However, at a May 29 hearing for their asylum request, a DHS lawyer requested the case’s dismissal, catching the family off guard. Despite the mother’s request to continue, the judge granted the dismissal, and ICE agents arrested the family as they left the courtroom. this arrest prevented the son from attending a scheduled June 5 medical appointment related to his cancer.
Following their arrest, the family was detained for hours before being transported to an immigration center and than flown to San Antonio. They are now held at a detention center in Dilley, Texas. court documents state that the children cry nightly, praying for release.The mother also claims that her son’s medical needs related to his cancer treatment have been neglected during their detention.
What’s next
The court will consider the request for a preliminary injunction to halt the family’s deportation while the lawsuit proceeds. Attorneys continue to seek the son’s release for medical treatment.