Austin mother and her 5-year-old U.S. citizen deported to Honduras after police handed them to federal agents

January 16, 2026

Grassroots Leadership published a press release Monday saying Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed an Austin mother and her 5-year-old child, a U.S. citizen, to Honduras. The nonprofit identified the child’s citizenship and said the deportation followed an encounter with local law enforcement.

The group said Austin Police Department officers handed the woman and child to federal agents, and that ICE completed the removal in under a week. Grassroots Leadership described the timeline in its statement, placing the handoff and the deportation within a short span.

The child’s age and U.S. citizenship status were highlighted in the nonprofit’s release, which argued those details made the case especially significant. Grassroots Leadership framed the incident as an example of how local policing and federal immigration enforcement can intersect.

Austin Police Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have not been quoted in the press release, though both agencies are central to the account. The nonprofit identified those agencies as the parties involved in the transfer and subsequent removal.

Community members and advocates are now focused on the sequence of events that led to the deportation, and on the roles played by local and federal authorities. Grassroots Leadership used its release to draw attention to the case and to push for more information about how the handoff occurred.

Officials from Austin Police Department and ICE may have records or statements that detail the encounter and the removal. Grassroots Leadership said it released the information Monday to inform the public and prompt further inquiry into the case.

Questions remain about the specifics of the initial police contact, any legal proceedings that took place, and the exact timing of the transfer to federal custody. Local advocates have called for clarity on those points and for agencies to provide documentation about the case.