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Woman, 4 children deported for missing immigration hearing in Houston
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 confirmed that Salazar did not report to a scheduled immigration hearing and was ordered to be removed by an immigration judge with the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review.
KHOU 11 reached out to the Justice Department’s EOIR which makes decisions based on individual cases and determines if a noncitizen is subject to removal or eligible for relief from removal. We have not received a response.
In a longstanding tradition, “A Christmas Celebration with The Steeles” will take place at Pantages Theatre on Dec. 21-22.
This will be the 40th anniversary of the singing siblings concert in Minnesota. The five Steeles have recorded and performed with Prince, Morgan Freeman, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and many more notable artists.
The Steeles visited KARE 11 News at Noon to share more about their upcoming event.
St. Croix Tribal police were called to a residence in Webster just before 6 p.m. Monday and encountered a man with a knife. One officer fired his weapon.
WEBSTER, Wisconsin — A man is hospitalized and multiple police officers are on administrative leave following a shooting in Webster Monday evening.
The Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) says the officer-involved shooting happened in the community of Webster shortly before 6 p.m. St. Croix Tribal Police were dispatched to a home in the 24000 block of Eagle Feather Dr. and upon arrival officers say they encountered a man with a knife. At some point in the encounter one officer fired his weapon, hitting the knife-wielding man.
DCI says the man who was shot was airlifted to a hospital in Minnesota, where he remains. There is no word on the man’s condition.
Burnett County sheriff’s officials called in the DCI to lead the investigation into the shooting. The officers involved in the incident have been placed on administrative leave, as is common in most officer-involved shootings.
Once the DCI investigation is concluded, reports will be turned over to the Burnett County Attorney’s Office to determine whether charges are warranted in the incident.
The 17-year-old died at his residence despite the attempts of officers to revive him.
MINNEAPOLIS — A 17-year-old boy is dead after a shooting Monday night outside his residence in Minneapolis.
Minneapolis police said squads responded to reports of a shooting around 7:15 p.m. on the block of 1100 25 St. E. Officers arrived to find the teen victim inside a residence suffering from multiple gunshot wounds
Officers attempted lifesaving care, including CPR and a chest seal, but the boy died in the home. In a press release, Minneapolis police said they believe the teen was outside the residence with others when shots were fired. He ran into the home and collapsed, police added.
Homicide investigators are working the case to determine what happened. There have been no arrests as of Tuesday morning.
“Another act of gun violence and another juvenile shot dead,” Police Chief Brian O’Hara said in the release. “This senseless act of gun violence has destroyed another young life and left another family with a life of grief. We are asking anyone in the community with information to help our investigators by providing any information they have about this incident.”
Anyone with information about the fatal shooting or those responsible is asked to call Minneapolis police at 612-673-3000. If you would prefer to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at this website.
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