ICE Takes 8-Year-Old Haitian Boy From Routine Check-In, San Diego School Rattled

The boy, dressed in a pressed white button-down shirt and slacks, arrived at ICE's downtown San Diego field office last Wednesday for a check-in. Video obtained by NBC San Diego shows him being walked out minutes later by three immigration officers. As of Monday, his family did not know where he was being held, according to Rep. Juan Vargas, D-Calif.

His uncle, who has cared for him since his father was deported last year, brought him to the appointment on purpose, the San Diego Unified School District said in a letter to Homeland Security and Health and Human Services. He went, officials wrote, because he did not want to break the law. Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, said the child was then taken into custody and transferred to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which holds children classified as unaccompanied minors.

DHS pushed back. A spokesperson told NBC San Diego that officers could not confirm the man was related to the boy and that he could not establish legal guardianship, so ICE deemed the child an unaccompanied minor. The spokesperson said ICE decided it was best to remove him from the household out of an abundance of caution for his safety, and called claims the boy was placed in detention false. DHS also said the child was brought into the country illegally by a man who claimed to be his father, who was removed to Mexico by Customs and Border Protection rather than ICE.

The third grader lost his immigration protections this summer after a Supreme Court decision let President Donald Trump end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, per the district's letter. TPS had shielded hundreds of thousands of Haitians from deportation since Haiti's 2010 earthquake. His summons to meet ICE came after that termination, the district said.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement declined to comment on specific cases, citing privacy policies. The boy is one of 1,640 children classified as unaccompanied minors in HHS care, agency data shows, and immigration authorities have taken more than 8,000 children into custody in the past year, according to the Deportation Data Project. Vargas' office said it is helping the family find out where he is. Jozef said the administration has stripped the boy of the stability, family and community every child deserves.

Back at Fay Elementary, classmates in his third grade class have voiced fear for their friend, district spokesperson James Canning said Monday. The district is sending extra crisis counselors to the school this week. Canning said no one at DHS or HHS has yet answered the district's letter asking them to reconsider how enforcement policies land on students.