Parents Are Getting Deported Without Having Any Idea Where Their Kids Are

Huffington Post interviewed WRC’s Zain Lakhani for an article about deportation practices that immigration advocates see as tantamount to a new form of forcible family separation—one that stands out because of the speed and scale at which it’s happening, and the particular way in which immigrants are being targeted.

A mother was forced to leave her 6-month-old with her sister when she was deported and flown to Honduras. By the time she landed, her sister had also been detained — and she had no idea where her child was.

A father begged immigration agents for one phone call when he was detained at work because his child was with a babysitter. He made the call, and the babysitter was able to stay a few extra days, but he was deported without his child.

These are just some of the stories immigrants deported from the United States to Honduras told the Women’s Refugee Commission, a nonprofit organization that interviewed people as they arrived. Every day for the last year, at least 300 immigrants have landed at La Lima airport, many without their children — and without knowing where their kids are or who is taking care of them.

Zain Lakhani, WRC’s director of migrant rights and justice, estimates hundreds of parents deported to Honduras have been separated from their families.