Two Burton Magnet Elementary School students and their parents were detained at a Charlotte immigration appointment Monday and deported to Honduras within about 48 hours. Advocates with Siembra NC said the family had been attending regular check-ins tied to an asylum case. Federal officials said the family had a final order of removal and no pending asylum claims or immigration applications.
Genesis, 11, and Denis, 6, were students in Durham Public Schools. Siembra NC said the family had lived in the U.S. for four years after seeking asylum in 2022. The group's defense manager, Andreina Malki, said the children's aunt was waiting outside the Charlotte appointment when she got a call from ICE telling her the family had been detained.
- The Department of Homeland Security said ICE removed Nelson Ramon Espinoza Sierra, Dacia Mariela Pacheco Galindo, Genesis Elizabeth Espinoza Pacheco, and Denis Daniel Espinoza Pacheco on Wednesday.
- DHS said a judge had issued a final order of removal after the family failed to appear for an immigration hearing. Siembra NC and local officials said the deportation happened without due process.
- Durham Public Schools told ABC11 it had activated mental health support services for the Burton Elementary community after the students' sudden removal.
Local officials said they'll start showing up. State Sen. Sophia Chitlik said elected officials and local leaders plan to accompany immigrants from the Triangle to future immigration hearings or check-ins as a protective presence and to document what happens. ICE did not return requests for comment in reports published Thursday about why the family was deported after Monday's appointment.
The deportation drew a Thursday news conference in Durham, where school and immigrant rights advocates focused on what happened between the Charlotte check-in and the family's removal on Wednesday.