FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 12, 2025
Contact:
Texas Civil Rights Project, media@texascivilrightsproject.org
U.S. CITIZEN CHILDREN DEPORTED ALONGSIDE UNDOCUMENTED PARENTS, DESPITE CRITICAL MEDICAL NEEDS
Five of the six children of a Rio Grande Valley Family were deported to Mexico along with their parents in early February, despite two of the children having complex medical conditions
AUSTIN, TX – In early February, a family was stopped at an immigration checkpoint in South Texas while on their way to Houston for an emergency medical checkup. Their lives changed when this time, they were stopped, detained, and deported.
The Hernández García* Family, including parents María and Juan and their 6 children (5 of whom are American citizens), built their home in Texas for more than a decade- working, paying taxes, and getting their children involved in community activities. In 2024, it was discovered that one of their daughters (a U.S. citizen) was diagnosed with a brain tumor, while another of their children is living with a serious heart condition. This required the Hernández García* family to make the risky journey across immigration checkpoints frequently, but in previous trips, the letters from their doctors and lawyers sufficed.
While in detention, the mother of the family, María*, recalls the agents treating her family like dogs, making unnecessarily invasive searches of the children and calling them degrading slurs. Agents even repeatedly attempted to take the children’s medicine from them despite the children explaining its purpose. These agents gave María* and her husband Juan* an impossible choice: to have their children remain in the United States in government custody and never see them again, or to have the children removed from the U.S. alongside their parents.
“I want my children to be able to access the medical care they need, to attend their schools, and live their lives in the only country they know as home. They are American citizens, it is their right. But it is also their right to be raised by their parents in that home,” said María*, mother of the children.
“The Hernández García* Family’s story is, unfortunately, not unique. We witnessed devastating family separations during Trump’s first administration, causing irreversible harm to the children forced to endure these policies. Now, we are seeing these dangerous tactics resurface, and we must act before another generation suffers these injustices.” said Rochelle Garza, President of the Texas Civil Rights Project. “Families like this are just as Texan as any of us, and our dreams are the same: to keep our children safe and healthy and together. The Texas Civil Rights Project stands with Maria*, Juan*, and their children as we fight for a Texas that welcomes and protects all of us.”
TCRP respectfully requests that the press refrain from contacting the family directly. If you have any questions please contact TCRP media representatives.
*- denotes name change for safety purposes
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The Texas Civil Rights Project is boldly serving the movement for equality and justice in and out of the courts. We use our tools of litigation and legal advocacy to protect and advance the civil rights of everyone in Texas, and we partner with communities across the state to serve the rising movement for social justice. We undertake our work with a vision of a Texas in which all communities can thrive with dignity, justice and without fear.