Two-month-old baby Juan Nicolás, who was detained at Dilley’s South Texas Family Residential Center for a month as his health deteriorated, was suddenly deported Tuesday with his family after being diagnosed with bronchitis, according to U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro.
“After a discussion with their attorney, I have confirmed that Juan, his 16-month old sister, his mom and his dad have been deported,” the San Antonio Democrat shared in a Tuesday evening Instagram statement. “According to their attorney, the family was deported with only the money that they had in their commissary—a total of $190.”
After losing track of the family for several hours and “fear[ing] the worst,” Univision reporter Lidia Terrazas said via social media that the family had been “practically abandoned” across the border in Mexico and had to borrow a phone from a stranger in the street to call her and update her on their situation.
In a Tuesday evening update, Terrazas said the family had found a hotel for the night with the little commissary money they had left. The family plans to seek immediate medical attention for baby Juan, who’s still sick with bronchitis, the reporter noted.
In a subsequent update, Terrazas said that she was going to Mexico to find the baby, which she did later in the evening. After visiting the hotel in Mexico, she shared another update in which she laid out the family’s future plans.
“The baby and his family can’t stay in Mexico. They fled this country for a reason, and their plan is to travel to Guatemala, where Juan Nicolás’ dad is from,” Terrazas said. “They feel like they’ll be safe there. So they need to raise the funds to be able to fly out there, and funds to start a new life.”
A GoFundMe account established on the family’s behalf has already raised $17,000 of its $24,000 goal.
Nicolás, the youngest child in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, was detained at the family detention center about an hour southwest of San Antonio for a month — or half his life.
The newborn’s health suffered while in custody at the facility, where families report “putrid” water and unsanitary conditions. At approximately 3 a.m. Saturday, he experienced a medical episode in which he was choking on his own vomit and experiencing respiratory issues, Terrazas reported over the weekend.
However, there was no medical staff at the facility in the early morning hours, Congressman Castro said in an earlier online post.
Instead, detention center personnel checked on the infant hourly “to ensure he did not develop a fever” and gave his mother, Mireya López Sánchez, a “nasal aspirator” to help with his phlegm, Terrazas said in a Monday afternoon update.
On Monday evening, Nicolás was rushed to the hospital after his mother found him “unresponsive,” according to Terrazas. He was later diagnosed with bronchitis but was released around midnight.
At approximately 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, the mother appeared in front of a judge, who stated they would be deported, “but didn’t say where or when,” Castro said in his most recent statement on the case. The baby and his mother were sent back to Dilley, despite the illness.
The entire family was deported later that same day.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials released a statement Tuesday evening following the deportation. The agency said the family received the “best” medical care inside the facility, but it failed to mention the deportation.
“It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody,” the statement said. “This includes medical, dental and mental health services as available, and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care. This is the best healthcare than [sic] many aliens have received in their entire lives.”
Castro had scathing criticism for ICE and the Dilley detention center in response to Tuesday’s rapid turn of events.
“To unnecessarily deport a sick baby and his entire family is heinous,” Castro wrote in a Tuesday evening update. He also stated that he and his staff were committed to “holding ICE accountable for this monstrous action.”
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