Haitian boy, 8, detained by ICE is now unaccounted for, lawmaker says

An eight-year-old Haitian boy taken into custody by US immigration authorities in California cannot currently be located by his relatives, according to Democratic congressman Juan Vargas. Vargas says he is working to reunite the child with loved ones; the case has drawn concern from local school officials and Haitian community advocates over the boy’s separation from his family and community.

The boy was taken on 4 November after his uncle brought him to what the family understood to be a routine immigration appointment in San Diego. The Department of Homeland Security says ICE acted because the uncle could not prove legal guardianship, and that the child was transferred to the Office of Refugee Resettlement under rules for unaccompanied children. Advocates say the boy’s father was deported last year, leaving no chance to arrange formal guardianship, while community leaders have raised wider concerns about the loss of temporary protected status for Haitians.