The video attached to this story initially aired on Dec. 10, 2025.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — A mom and her 5-year-old child, a U.S. citizen, were deported by Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) less than a week after Austin Police Department (APD) officers notified federal agents, according to a press release from nonprofit Grassroots Leadership on Monday.
In a statement, Grassroots Leadership said the mom called relatives Sunday afternoon and told them she had been deported with her child to Honduras.
“The family was informed … that both she and [daughter] were placed in a hotel in the San Antonio area while they waited to be deported, and that she was instructed not to share their location with anyone in order to avoid alerting community and media outlets,” the group said. “The family is devastated now that they are separated by an immigrant system bent on ripping families apart. The community is also grieving their loss.”
KXAN requested a statement from ICE after agents initially took the mother and child, and did not receive a response. We also reached out to the agency Tuesday morning for its response.
Prior to deportation, an immigration attorney tried to intervene in the case, according to Grassroots Leadership. That attempt was thwarted by ICE officials being unable to find the mom and child in the agency’s locator database, the nonprofit said. Noncitizens are entitled to a legal defense under the U.S. Constitution.
The mom and her child were taken into custody on Jan. 5 after APD officers learned that ICE had an “administrative warrant” out for the mom. Such warrants are only enforceable by federal agents, not local officers, and current APD policy doesn’t require officers to assist ICE in serving these warrants.
APD, in a Jan. 7 statement about the case, said its officers responded to a disturbance call in the 6100 block of Blue Stem Trail around 4:30 a.m. No disturbance or injured person was found, APD said.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said in a Jan. 9 statement that the officers “identified information suggesting that the individual who placed the call may have committed a criminal offense.” She also said the officers did not inquire about the woman’s immigration status.
KXAN asked APD on Tuesday morning for further information about that alleged offense.
“Protecting everyone in our community is our top priority. While officers take appropriate action when a warrant is identified, our focus remains on public safety and not on immigration enforcement,” Davis said. “APD officers are here to help, support victims, and ensure public safety for our Austin community.”
Grassroots Leadership said it has questions about how APD officers interact with immigrants, and suggested instances like this case will have a chilling effect on the community’s willingness to contact law enforcement.
“While APD maintains it does not actively collaborate with ICE or investigate immigration status, this case challenges that claim and highlights the high risk immigrants face interacting with APD in the current era of mass disappearances and deportations,” its statement said.
On Wednesday, Davis said that she plans to update APD policy to clarify that its officers would
“There are circumstances in which state law requires APD to assist when called upon; however, APD does not proactively engage in immigration enforcement initiatives with ICE,” she wrote.