A Florida Teen Was Taken From Their Foster Home and Detained by ICE—Now Elected Officials Are Calling It Out
The Trump administration’s immigration raids have a new focus: foster children. A Florida teenager was recently taken from his home and detained by immigration officers. The move is stunning immigration activists and alarming communities. It could set a new precedent that diverges morally from the child welfare practice in Florida.
A Florida teenager in foster care was detained by immigration officials
According to the Miami Herald, a 17-year-old boy named Henry, was handcuffed and removed from his foster home by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The detention is setting off alarms for advocates in the area. Henry was an unaccompanied minor after his mother was detained and deported back to Honduras when he was a child.
After being separated from his mother, Henry made his way from Texas to Pensacola, Florida. He was found living in a shed with no income, food, or shelter so he was placed in the foster care system. The child was allegedly turned over to federal authorities by the Department of Children and Families, violating its own rule against such coordination.
State Sen. Ileana Garcia, a Miami Republican, spoke out against the detention. For Sen. Garcia, and legal experts in Florida, the news could put other children in the Florida foster care system at risk.
“Somehow they are collecting these records because they are going to their houses,” said Garcia, who co-founded Latinas for Trump, according to the Miami Herald. “What really bothers me is that these are victims of human trafficking. You would think they would have more protections.”
Florida Democrats are demanding answers
The news shocked elected officials in Florida on both sides of the aisle. For many, it appears that this was a stunning and unexpected use of authorities against undocumented minors in the Sunshine State.
“The people of Florida deserve to hear why the department abandoned its core mission of protecting vulnerable children to participate in a crackdown on immigrants that is going too far,” House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell, said in a statement, according to WGCU. “We need to know if there were more children before Henry, and if they intend to do this again.”
After the news broke, the DCF put out their own statement. The department claims that the minor was in the care of the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement (U.S. ORR) and absconded. This prompted a decision to return the child to official custody.
“The Florida Department of Children and Families may provide temporary care but must work with all partners to return the individual to the appropriate legal custody, which in this case was U.S. ORR,” reads the statement, according to the Miami Herald.
Yet, as has been reported, Henry was not originally held by the U.S. ORR. Instead, due to the unique nature of his discovery, Henry was originally picked up by authorities in Escambia County, Florida. He was then placed into the state foster care system. The U.S. ORR has allegedly changed the way they operate. Formerly, the office would hesitate before taking back unaccompanied minors in state care. However, under the Trump administration, the office has reversed course on their reluctance.
