🔗 Share this article 'Our destination remained a mystery': a family's descent into the state of'black hole' of removal They discovered their location through a highway exit sign that disclosed their final destination: Alexandria, Louisiana. They traveled in the cargo area of an federal transport truck – their possessions confiscated and identification held by agents. Rosario and her two American-born children, including a child who faces advanced renal cancer, lacked information about where immigration officials were directing them. The apprehension The household had been detained at an immigration check-in near New Orleans on April 24. Following restrictions from speaking with their lawyer, which they would subsequently allege in official complaints violated their rights, the family was moved 200 miles to this small community in the state's interior. "I received no information about our destination," Rosario stated, answering inquiries about her experience for the premier instance after her family's case became public. "I was told that I couldn't ask questions, I inquired about our destination, but they remained silent." The removal process Rosario, 25, and her two children were involuntarily deported to Honduras in the early morning hours the following day, from a rural airport in Alexandria that has emerged as a hub for large-scale removal programs. The facility houses a specialized holding facility that has been described as a legal "void" by lawyers with people held there, and it opens immediately onto an flight line. While the holding center contains solely male adults, obtained records indicate at least 3,142 women and children have traveled via the Alexandria airport on government charter flights during the initial three months of the current administration. Some individuals, like Rosario, are held in undisclosed hotels before being sent abroad or moved to other confinement locations. Hotel detention Rosario could not recall which Alexandria hotel her family was taken to. "I recall we came in through a parking area, not the primary access," she remembered. "We felt like prisoners in a room," Rosario said, noting: "The young ones would try to go toward the door, and the female guards would become angry." Health issues Rosario's four-year-old son Romeo was identified with advanced renal carcinoma at the age of two, which had spread to his lungs, and was receiving "consistent and vital life-saving cancer treatment" at a specialized children's hospital in New Orleans before his detention by authorities. His sister, Ruby, also a American national, was seven when she was taken into custody with her mother and brother. Rosario "begged" guards at the hotel to permit utilization of a telephone the night the family was there, she claimed in federal court documents. She was finally allowed one limited communication to her father and told him she was in Alexandria. The after-hours locating effort The family was roused at 2 a.m. the following morning, Rosario said, and transported immediately to the airport in a van with other individuals also held at the hotel. Unbeknownst to the mother, her legal team and representatives had searched throughout the night to find where the two families had been detained, in an attempt to obtain legal action. But they were not located. The lawyers had made numerous petitions to immigration authorities right after the arrest to block the deportation and find her position. They had been regularly overlooked, according to official records. "This processing center is itself fundamentally opaque," said an expert, who is representing Rosario in current legal proceedings. "But in situations involving families, they will typically not transport them to the facility itself, but place them in undisclosed hotel rooms in proximity. Court claims At the heart of the legal action filed on behalf of Rosario and other individuals is the assertion that federal agencies have ignored established rules governing the handling of US citizen children with parents subject to deportation. The directives state that authorities "must provide" parents "sufficient time" to make choices about the "welfare or movement" of their minor children. Federal authorities have not yet addressed Rosario's legal assertions. The government agency did not answer comprehensive queries about the allegations. The aviation facility incident "When we arrived, it was a mostly deserted facility," Rosario stated. "Exclusively removal vans were pulling up." "Several vehicles were present with more detainees," she said. They were confined to the transport at the airport for an extended period, watching other vans approach with men shackled at their hands and feet. "That portion was distressing," she said. "The kids kept questioning why everyone was restrained hand and foot ... if they were criminals. I explained it was just normal protocol." The aircraft boarding The family was then made to enter an aircraft, legal documents state. At around this period, according to records, an immigration local official finally replied to Rosario's attorney – telling them a stay of removal had been denied. Rosario said she had not consented at any point for her two citizen minors to be sent to another country. Legal representatives said the timing of the arrests may not have been coincidental. They said the meeting – rescheduled three times without explanation – may have been timed to coincide with a deportation flight to Honduras the following day. "Officials apparently channel as many detainees as they can toward that location so they can occupy the plane and remove them," explained a legal advocate. The aftermath The complete ordeal has resulted in lasting consequences, according to the lawsuit. Rosario continues to live with concerns about exploitation and kidnapping in Honduras. In a prior announcement, the Department of Homeland Security asserted that Rosario "elected" to bring her children to the required meeting in April, and was asked if she wanted authorities to place the children with someone secure. The organization also asserted that Rosario elected departure with her children. Ruby, who was unable to complete her school year in the US, is at risk of "educational decline" and is "undergoing serious emotional difficulties", according to the court documents. Romeo, who has now turned five, was denied specialized and life-saving medical treatment in Honduras. He temporarily visited the US, without his mother, to continue treatment. "The boy's worsening medical status and the halt in his therapy have generated for her tremendous anxiety and mental suffering," the legal action alleges. *Names of individuals have been changed.