Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained an 8-year-old Haitian boy at a routine appointment in downtown San Diego last week, separating him from his uncle and transferring him to federal custody, according to school officials and an advocacy group. The boy, a third grader at Fay Elementary School, lost his Temporary Protected Status protections this summer after a Supreme Court decision allowed President Donald Trump to end TPS for Haitians. He was summoned to meet with ICE officers Wednesday, and his uncle brought him to the appointment to comply with the law, according to a letter San Diego Unified School District officials sent Friday to the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services.
ICE officers determined the boy to be an unaccompanied minor after the uncle could not establish legal guardianship, according to a DHS spokesperson. The agency said it removed the boy from the household out of caution to ensure his safety. The boy was subsequently transferred to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which takes custody of children deemed unaccompanied minors. As of Monday, his family did not know where he was being held, according to Representative Juan Vargas.
The boy had been living with his uncle and cousins after his father was deported last year, according to the school district and the Haitian Bridge Alliance, an immigrant rights advocacy group. TPS is a humanitarian designation that had shielded hundreds of thousands of Haitians from deportation following the country's 2010 earthquake. The protections were renewed multiple times as Haiti descended into crisis, with gangs now controlling much of the capital after the president was assassinated in 2021.
The school district said it is sending crisis counselors to Fay Elementary School this week because the boy's classmates have expressed concern and fear for him. School officials asked DHS and HHS to reconsider how immigration enforcement policies are affecting students, but as of Monday had received no response. The Office of Refugee Resettlement said it does not comment on specific cases. The boy is among 1,640 children considered unaccompanied minors currently in HHS care.