'I was never informed of our destination': a family's descent into Louisiana's'legal void' of deportation

It was a roadway marker that disclosed their final destination: Alexandria, Louisiana.

They were transported in the cargo area of an federal transport truck – their personal belongings taken and travel documents retained by authorities. Rosario and her two American-born children, one of whom battles advanced renal cancer, remained unaware about where federal agents were taking them.

The initial encounter

The family unit had been detained at an required meeting near New Orleans on April 24. After being prevented from contacting legal counsel, which they would subsequently allege in court filings violated their rights, the family was moved 200 miles to this modest settlement in the state's interior.

"They never told me where I was going," Rosario stated, responding to questions about her experience for the premier instance after her family's case became public. "They instructed me that I must not seek information, I inquired about our destination, but they remained silent."

The removal process

Rosario, 25, and her minor children were forcibly removed to Honduras in the early morning hours the following day, from a small aviation facility in Alexandria that has become a center for large-scale removal programs. The facility houses a unique detention center that has been called a legal "vacuum" by lawyers with clients inside, and it opens immediately onto an flight line.

While the confinement area contains solely adult male detainees, leaked documents indicate at least 3,142 females and minors have passed through the Alexandria airport on immigration transports during the opening period of the present government. Certain people, like Rosario, are detained at undisclosed hotels before being deported or moved to other holding facilities.

Lodging restrictions

The mother didn't remember which Alexandria hotel her family was taken to. "I just remember we came in through a garage entrance, not the main entrance," she recalled.

"We were treated like prisoners in a room," Rosario said, explaining: "My kids would try to go toward the door, and the security personnel would show irritation."

Health issues

The mother's child Romeo was found to have stage 4 kidney cancer at the age of two, which had spread to his lungs, and was receiving "regular and critical cancer care" at a pediatric medical center in New Orleans before his arrest. His sister, Ruby, also a American national, was seven when she was taken into custody with her relatives.

Rosario "pleaded with" guards at the hotel to permit utilization of a telephone the night the family was there, she stated in federal court documents. She was ultimately granted one short conversation to her father and told him she was in Alexandria.

The nighttime investigation

The family was woken up at 2 a.m. the subsequent day, Rosario said, and transported immediately to the airport in a government vehicle with additional detainees also confined in the hotel.

Without her knowledge, her legal team and advocates had searched throughout the night to locate where the two families had been kept, in an effort to secure legal intervention. But they remained undiscovered. The attorneys had made repeated requests to immigration authorities following the apprehension to block the deportation and establish her whereabouts. They had been regularly overlooked, according to legal filings.

"The Louisiana location is itself essentially a void," said a legal representative, who is providing legal counsel in current legal proceedings. "But in situations involving families, they will often not take them to the facility itself, but put them in undisclosed hotel rooms close by.

Legal arguments

At the core of the litigation filed on behalf of Rosario and another family is the allegation that immigration authorities have violated their own regulations governing the handling of US citizen children with parents subject to deportation. The guidelines state that authorities "must provide" parents "adequate chance" to make determinations concerning the "care or travel" of their underage dependents.

Government agencies have not yet responded to Rosario's legal assertions. The federal department did not respond to specific inquiries about the allegations.

The aviation facility incident

"When we arrived, it was a mostly deserted facility," Rosario remembered. "Just immigration transports were pulling up."

"Several vehicles were present with more detainees," she said.

They were confined to the transport at the airport for an extended period, seeing other vans approach with men shackled at their limbs.

"That segment was traumatic," she said. "My children kept questioning why everyone was restrained hand and foot ... if they were criminals. I told them it was just standard procedure."

The aircraft boarding

The family was then made to enter an aircraft, court filings state. At approximately this time, according to filings, an immigration regional supervisor eventually responded to Rosario's attorney – informing them a deportation delay had been rejected. Rosario said she had not consented at any point for her two US citizen children to be sent to another country.

Advocates said the scheduling of the apprehension may not have been random. They said the check-in – rescheduled three times without justification – may have been scheduled to align with a deportation flight to Honduras the subsequent day.

"They seem to direct as many individuals as they can toward that facility so they can fill the flight and send them out," commented a legal advocate.

The aftermath

The complete ordeal has caused irreparable harm, according to the lawsuit. Rosario persistently faces concerns about exploitation and abduction in Honduras.

In a earlier communication, the government department stated that Rosario "decided" to bring her children to the immigration check-in in April, and was inquired whether she preferred authorities to place the children with someone secure. The organization also claimed that Rosario chose to be deported with her children.

Ruby, who was couldn't finish her academic term in the US, is at risk of "educational decline" and is "experiencing significant mental health issues", according to the litigation.

Romeo, who has now become five years old, was unable to access critical and essential medical care in Honduras. He temporarily visited the US, without his mother, to continue treatment.

"Romeo's deteriorating health and the disruption to his treatment have caused Rosario significant distress and emotional turmoil," the legal action alleges.

*Names of individuals have been modified.