4-Year-Old US Citizen Fighting Stage 4 Cancer Deported to Honduras: Family Takes Legal Action

The complaint alleges that Romeo, alongside his 25-year-old mother, a Honduran national, and his sister, was arrested during what they believed was a routine check‑in with ICE. Instead of routine processing, Romeo's mother, Rosario, was denied access to counsel, barred from making any custody arrangements, and prevented from preparing for her children's care.

According to the filing, revealed by The Miami Herald, ICE agents forced the family through the back door, sequestering them incommunicado. Without warning, late on April 24 or early April 25, they were transported first to a hotel in Alexandria, Louisiana, then to an airport before being placed on a flight to Honduras approximately four hours later.

Romeo's treatment had been ongoing at Manning Family Children's Hospital in New Orleans since his diagnosis in 2023, when he was two years old. Romeo, whose health has worsened since the cancer spread to his lungs, has been flying "back and forth" between Honduras and the U.S. for his medical appointments. However, the complaint alleges that paying for these flights has put a strain on Rosario's "very limited financial resources."

The families' attorneys wrote that "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."

The lawsuit charges that ICE violated its own policies and federal law by denying the parents the right to arrange for their U.S. citizen children's care before deportation, effectively removing the children's constitutional rights to due process. The plaintiffs seek a jury trial, injunctions compelling their return to the U.S., and accountability from ICE officials, including field office directors, acting agency heads, and the Secretary of Homeland Security and Attorney General.

The deportation of Romeo and two other U.S.-citizen children, ages 2, 4 (Romeo), and 7, occurred before federal courts opened, preventing legal challenges or habeas corpus filings. Legal advocates and civil‑rights groups, including the ACLU, condemned the move as an egregious constitutional violation, especially given the medical vulnerability of the affected children.

ICE and Department of Homeland Security spokespeople have countered that the mothers requested their children accompany them, a claim widely disputed by attorneys for the families due to the absence of consent or due process rights. U.S. District Judge Terry A. Doughty noted "strong suspicion that the government just deported a U.S. citizen with no meaningful process."