Six California lawmakers are pressing federal officials to disclose where an 8-year-old Haitian student is being held after an immigration check-in led to his transfer to federal care.
The request also asks whether his family has been notified, according to a Nov. 10 press release from Rep. Juan Vargas’ office. It was signed by Reps. Juan Vargas, Sara Jacobs, Mike Levin and Scott Peters, and Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff.
San Diego Unified School District said the boy is a third-grader at Fay Elementary School and has been placed in a facility operated by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) while awaiting family reunification. The district has not publicly identified him. Neither the district nor the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has named the specific facility. DHS said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) transferred him to ORR.
The Guardian reported that Vargas told NBC’s San Diego affiliate the boy’s relatives did not know his location and that he was working to reunite the child with loved ones. ORR told NBC News it does not comment on specific cases.
DHS said the adult who brought the boy identified himself as his uncle but could not establish legal guardianship. The agency said it treated the child as an unaccompanied minor and moved him from the household because of concerns for his safety.
The district said the uncle had housed the boy since his father’s deportation more than a year ago. According to the district, the uncle took him to the appointment after receiving a letter directing him to meet an ICE agent; the district quoted the uncle as saying he “did not want to break the law.”
The district said it arranged counseling support at Fay Elementary after students voiced concern about the boy. Vargas called the detention “despicable” and “inhumane,” NBC News reported.
