ICE Deports Two Durham Elementary Students Despite Following Asylum Rules

Two elementary school children in Durham, North Carolina, were ripped from their classrooms and deported to Honduras this week despite their family’s strict adherence to the U.S. asylum process. Genesis, 11, and her younger brother Denis, 6, both students at Burton Elementary Magnet School, were detained with their parents during a routine check-in with immigration officials in Charlotte on Monday. By Thursday morning, the family had been sent back to Honduras, according to immigrant rights group Siembra NC.

The family, who fled violence in Honduras and have no criminal record, had been seeking asylum since 2022 and regularly showed up to annual immigration appointments as required. “Genesis and Denis’ family was doing exactly what the system asks of them,” said Andreina Malki, organizer with Siembra NC. “They were showing up and fulfilling their legal obligations as they seek refuge.” Yet ICE disregarded this compliance and deported the children in the middle of the school year.

Durham Public Schools responded by activating counseling services for students at Burton Elementary, where teachers expressed heartbreak over the abrupt removal of Genesis. “We are lost without her. We miss her smile. We miss her laughter,” wrote her fifth grade teacher Brandon Daniel. The trauma of sudden deportations hits the entire school community, with educators recalling similar cases from years past.

Local elected officials joined immigrant advocates at a press conference to condemn the deportations and demand transparency. State Senator Sophia Chitlik called for data on how many children nationwide—and specifically in North Carolina—have faced detention or deportation. “How many more children have been disappeared in the middle of the school year?” she asked.

In response, Siembra NC plans to increase efforts to accompany asylum seekers to immigration appointments to provide protective presence. Durham officials have pledged support, but the chilling message is clear: ICE is now targeting children, escalating the administration’s ruthless crackdown on immigrant families.

This case exposes the brutal reality of immigration enforcement under the current administration—where even children who follow the rules are not safe from deportation. It underscores the urgent need for accountability and humane immigration policies that protect vulnerable families rather than tear them apart.