Detained Migrants Are Being Told They Can Reunite With Their Kids If They Sign Voluntary Deportation Orders

Migrants held in a detention facility in Houston separate from their children are being told they can reunite with their kids if they agree to sign a voluntary deportation order, the Texas Tribune reports.

A Honduran man told the Tribune at least 20 to 25 Central American men have been separated from their children, with most receiving the voluntary deportation offer. Authorities have reportedly told these men they will reunite with their kids at the airport if they agree to deportation.

The Honduran man told the Tribune he signed the voluntary deportation order and “abandoned his asylum case” in order to see his six-year-old daughter whom he was separated from in May.

“I was told I would not be deported without my daughter,” the man, who used the pseudonym “Carlos,” told the Tribune. “I signed it out of desperation… but the truth is I can’t go back to Honduras; I need help.”

In a statement, ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok accused the Tribune of “unprofessional and unfair” reporting for documenting the man’s allegations without offering identifying information about the individual making them.

"It is unprofessional and unfair for a media outlet to publish such allegations without providing names, dates and locations so that these allegations can be properly researched," Rusnok said.

Cynthia Milian, a private attorney, cautioned that given the sprawling border control bureaucracy and the different department that handled immigration, it’s unlikely anyone who signs a voluntary deportation order would be met at the airport with their kids.

“I doubt they would put his child on a plane to get her to where he would get deported out from, especially if she’s in Arizona,” Milian said. “I just don’t see that happening.”