A 10-year-old Venezuelan boy faced immigration court proceedings alone in Houston while his mother remained in federal custody, raising questions about due process protections for minors in deportation cases. Immigration authorities have detained over 6,200 children during President Trump’s second term, with more than 3,600 deported since January.

Mother Detained During Traffic Stop

Wilfredo Hoyos-Gomez appeared without legal representation at an immigration court hearing in Texas last week. His mother, Nexoli Anyis Gomez Bracho, was arrested during a traffic stop in Houston in late 2025 and has remained in ICE custody at the Houston Contract Detention Facility. The Department of Homeland Security stated the mother chose to illegally enter the country in August 2023, bringing her son with her, and resisted arrest.

According to Representative Joaquín Castro of Texas, both mother and son have a pending asylum case. DHS officials claim Gomez Bracho chose to place her son with a legal guardian while she remains in custody. The boy’s former employer, Marife Mosquera, now serves as his guardian with no immediate family members available in the United States.

Deportation to Ecuador Without Family Ties

Immigration authorities are seeking to remove Wilfredo to Ecuador, a country where he has never lived and has no family connections. Mosquera received notification that officials had attempted to proceed with deportation to Ecuador. Because of his mother’s detention, the boy’s immigration case is now being handled separately from hers, according to local reports.

Castro stated that Gomez Bracho possesses a work permit and had been attempting to comply with immigration requirements. The congressman called for ICE to release the mother and halt deportation proceedings against the child. A fundraising campaign created on behalf of Wilfredo warns that he risks deportation to a country where he has no family support system.

Legal Representation Funding Eliminated

The Trump administration moved to terminate federal funding for legal representation programs for unaccompanied migrant children in 2025. The decision halted services that had provided attorneys to tens of thousands of minors in immigration proceedings, sparking lawsuits from legal aid organizations. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council noted that children representing themselves in immigration court remains a relatively common occurrence in the current system. DHS maintains that ICE does not separate families and that parents choose whether to be removed with their children or designate a safe guardian, consistent with past administration policies.