US immigration authorities deported Victor Martinez Nieto and his five-year-old son, Liam Tadeo, after detaining them in Austin, Texas, while they were travelling to a football match. Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico described the detention as a kidnapping and criticised the impact on Liam’s planned start at kindergarten, while the Department of Homeland Security rejected that characterisation.

DHS said the father requested that his son be removed with him, stating that parents may instead designate a safe person to care for their children and that the pair were not separated. Both were held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center before being deported on Tuesday; the article reports that Martinez Nieto had previously been arrested in November 2025, deported in February, and later re-entered the US unlawfully. The family’s attorney had been contacted for comment.