ICE To Deport 10-Year-Old Boy After Court Hearing Without a Lawyer
A 10-year-old Venezuelan boy, Wilfredo Hoyos-Gomez, appeared alone in an immigration court hearing in Houston without legal representation while his mother remains in ICE custody. U.S. immigration authorities are seeking to deport him to Ecuador, a country he has never visited, despite his pending asylum case. The case highlights ongoing concerns about the treatment of unaccompanied migrant children and access to legal representation in immigration proceedings.
- ▪Wilfredo Hoyos-Gomez, a 10-year-old from Venezuela, attended an immigration court hearing in Texas without a lawyer.
- ▪His mother, Nexoli Anyis Gomez Bracho, was detained by ICE in late 2025 after a traffic stop and remains in custody at the Houston Contract Detention Facility.
- ▪The Department of Homeland Security stated the family entered the U.S. on August 24, 2023, and the mother chose to bring her son illegally and resist arrest.
- ▪Democratic Representative Joaquín Castro said ICE plans to deport Wilfredo to Ecuador, where he has no family connections.
- ▪The Trump administration halted federal funding for legal representation of unaccompanied migrant children in 2025, a move temporarily blocked by a federal judge in California.
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By Billal RahmanImmigration ReporterShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberSee more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.A 10-year-old Venezuelan boy facing deportation proceedings in the United States appeared alone in immigration court in Texas while his mother remained in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)."I was scared because it was my first time in court," Wilfredo Hoyos-Gomez told the Spanish-language outlet Univision after attending an immigration court hearing last week in Houston without legal representation.Immigration authorities have detained more than 6,200 children during President Donald Trump's second term, according to data analyzed by the Marshall Project.
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