Federico Arellano Jr. said his children were crying as they were arrested and placed on a flight to McAllen and then escorted to Reynosa, Mexico.
HOUSTON — A Houston man is fighting back after they said Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency agents unexpectedly deported his wife and four children last week.
It happened on Wednesday, Dec. 11, according to attorneys. Federico Arellano Jr. was there when ICE took his wife and children.
Christina Salazar, 23, as well as her four children — including twins born in September — were arrested, put on a plane to McAllen and then escorted to Reynosa, Mexico.
“They were treated as if they were high-risk criminals,” a family attorney said in a news release.
According to Arellano Jr., his wife and two older children missed a hearing with a Houston immigration judge on Oct. 9, about a month after she had an emergency cesarean section to deliver her twins. She was told by doctors to recover at home.
The family said they called the immigration court to let them know what was going on and claimed to have been told over the phone that the hearing would be rescheduled. They said they got a call back to show up at a location in the Greenspoint area to talk about their case, but when they showed up, the mother and kids were arrested.
“The issue of Cristina missing her court hearing was a technical violation that could have been resolved,” a family attorney said.
Arellano Jr., a United States citizen, was there and tried to explain what happened, attorneys said. He said he was threatened by ICE agents if he interfered. He said his children were crying as they and Salazar were taken into custody.
“They were shocked and surprised that they were separated,” immigration lawyer Isaias Torres said.
Torres and Silvia Mintz are representing the family. They said that Salazar was born in Mexico and married Arellano Jr. in 2019.
“The reason she was arrested, they were told, is that she failed to go to an immigration hearing,” Torres said.
The family’s attorneys said it was cold the night Salazar and the children were taken to Mexico and they were not allowed to get coats. They also said the woman and her children had no money and no contacts in Reynosa.
Arellano Jr. said he wants his family back so they can go through the immigration process legally.
His attorneys said some circumstances were out of their control that led to them being deported. One of those factors was that the family didn’t have legal representation at the time of the impromptu meeting at which they were arrested.
“This case shouldn’t have gone to this extreme. There were options, legal options, that were available and he was not given those opportunities,” Torres said. “They thought that they were complying and doing as they were told. And it turns out that they were not.”
The family and their attorneys plan to file a complaint with the Office of Inspector General as well as petitions with immigration. But, since they’re out of the country, it could take several months.
ICE hasn’t responded to a request for comment.