There is no shortage of stories about ICE’s alleged cruelty when it comes to picking their “targets” for deportation, but for many, deporting a cancer-stricken 4-year-old from New Orleans, Louisiana, might just be the worst. In light of this alleged human rights violation, the child’s family in Louisiana has fought back and is now suing ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).
Romeo, the 4-year-old in question, was deported back in May, along with Rosario, his Honduran mother, even though the child is a U.S.-born baby. Romeo’s kidney cancer, which has now spread to his lungs, began back in 2023 when he was just two years old. The boy’s treatment at Manning Family Children’s Hospital has been ongoing ever since, until late April of this year, when ICE agents’ routine check-in swept them up for deportation.
Since then, Romeo has been flying back and forth between the US and Honduras for medical appointments and cancer treatment, with the child’s family alleging that the mother has experienced great financial difficulties due to these flights.
“As a direct consequence of ICE’s unlawful conduct, Romeo was deprived of much-needed continuity in his treatment, and he has faced substantial health risks due to his inability to access emergency specialized care and the routine critical oncological care that was available to him in the United States,” according to the Louisiana family’s attorneys, transcript courtesy of Latin Times.
With that, the Louisiana family has since charged ICE with a lawsuit, citing a violation of its own policies and federal law since they deported a US citizen and infringed on his constitutional rights. At the moment, the lawsuit is ongoing, and the plaintiffs are now arranging a jury trial while also working on bringing the cancer-stricken 4-year-old back to US soil.
It’s also worth noting that Romeo is not the only child deported this way in Louisiana as two other children, aged 2 and 7, were among those picked up by ICE back in their late-April sweeps in the US state.
People are Outraged at ICE’s Lack of Empathy
Sadly, deportations like the one Romeo experienced seem to be on the rise. Another sick Hispanic girl, aged 8, was also detained by ICE, and she died in the detention center after the staff dismissed her complaints about pain. Her death could’ve been avoided. People online have since echoed out their anti-ICE sentiments:
“During his first administration [Trump] they tried to deport foreign patients from Boston Children’s Hospital, which is one of the finest pediatric research institutions in the world.
These particular children had been invited to the US, to take part in clinical trials for rare diseases. Without them, the trials lacked the requisite number of participants to continue. Meaning if they had a life saving treatment, now no one gets it. In their own countries, these diseases were a guaranteed death sentence.
There is no end to the depravity of this xenophobia” fumes Zelcron
And while the 4-year-old Romeo is alive at the moment, it’s not clear how much he has suffered and how much his unjust deportation impacted his health. Many have since pointed out how cruelty is the actual point of ICE’s deportations, especially with whom they keep deporting. At the moment, ICE is racking up new recruits and is even being endorsed by celebrities, so it might be fair to expect more cases like Romeo’s.
“Why is the rest of the country letting this fucking trump gov’t do this?” questions 1PennyHardaway
“MAGA hate and cruelty knows no bounds. The child obviously cannot get the level of care in Honduras he can in the U.S. Trump loves separating families,” says Top_Oil_9473
“So what happens if this kid dies,” asks misanthrope2327
