HUMSI — Human Security Initiative

Human Impact Project

A living database documenting reported immigration enforcement incidents and their human impact.

6-year-old with leukemia detained at Dilley, released after lawsuit, still terrified of uniformed officers

Jul 4, 2025 · Honduras

N.M.Z., a 6-year-old Honduran boy with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, was arrested by ICE agents along with his mother and 9-year-old sister in the hallway outside a Los Angeles courthouse on May 29, 2025, following an asylum hearing. The family was held for one month at Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas, where the boy missed a scheduled medical appointment and developed concerning symptoms including easy bruising, bone pain, and loss of appetite. After attorneys filed a lawsuit seeking their release, the family was released on July 2, 2025, and flown to Los Angeles on July 4, 2025. Upon return to California, the child developed severe trauma symptoms: hiding under the bed when strangers passed apartment windows, sobbing and screaming if forced outside, and remaining terrified of anyone in uniform. Eight months after release, he continued to experience intense fear of uniformed officers.

Timeline

Jul 4, 2025Family flown to Los Angeles
Jul 2, 2025Family released from detention after attorneys filed a lawsuit seeking their release
May 29, 2025ICE agents arrested N.M.Z., his mother, and 9-year-old sister in the hallway outside a Los Angeles courthouse after an asylum hearing
May 29, 2025Family transferred to Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas
Oct 2024Family entered the U.S. legally using the CBP One app and were given parole status
May 29, 2025During one-month detention at Dilley, N.M.Z. missed a scheduled medical appointment and developed concerning symptoms including easy bruising, bone pain, and loss of appetite
Jul 4, 2025N.M.Z. developed severe trauma symptoms including hiding under the bed when strangers passed apartment windows, sobbing and screaming if forced outside, and remaining terrified of anyone in uniform

Sources

Related incidents