An immigrant who filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement went missing after being deported to a dangerous city in Mexico, according to a recently published article.


A Lawsuit Filed Against ICE

Hector Garcia Mendoza is the immigrant who filed the lawsuit against the U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement. Mendoza was born in the Mexican state of Oaxaca and was raised by his paternal grandparents.

The lawsuit filed called for the release of the immigrants being detained at the Elizabeth Detention Center due to the risk of COVID-19 infections and contagion. This is where Mendoza was detained and 18 people tested positive for the virus.

There are around 2,620 immigrants detained in the different detention centers across the country and around 1,327 tested positive. In the previous report of Latin Post, there are two immigrants who already died due to COVID-19 while in the Detention Centers.

Hector Garcia Mendoza Went Missing After Being Deported

Joelle Eliza Lingat, one of the lawyers of Mendoza said that Judge Brian R. Martinotti had verbally granted the temporary restraining order blocking the deportation of his client on May 19. Additionally, there were told by the Mexican authorities that Mendoza has crossed the dangerous border city Nuevo Laredo just an hour after the order was issued according to a recent report.

However, Mendoza's lawyers only found out that their client was deported was hours after Rep. Joaquin Castro's office asked for information on the case. The first report of Mendoza's deportation was first published by Law360.

Lingat said recently: "Nuevo Laredo has earned a reputation for being a city where immigrants are easily kidnapped, extorted, and assaulted by cartels. Deportees could also be targets if they're perceived as having access to family or friends with money in the U.S."

He also added, "That's why we started a very urgent search as soon as we found out he was in fact in Mexico. Hector experienced extreme injustice through our immigration system and that injustice needs to be corrected."

Statement of the ICE

ICE released a statement pertaining to Mendoza's deportation being ordered by an immigration judge on May 4th but he waived his right to appeal the decision. Lingat said that Mendoza at that time wasn't represented by any lawyer and hadn't realized what he agreed to. The official court documents mentioned in a report says "In conversations with the attorney, Mr. García Mendoza explained that he was unsure of what had happened during his immigration hearings, but that he feared persecution and torture upon removal to Mexico."

Lingat recalled the last time they spoke to their client was when he was still being held at the Elizabeth Detention Center. Since his deportation, his lawyers and family members were unable to reach him and they were afraid for his safety. A letter was already sent to the Department of Homeland Security questioning the deportation of Mendoza that could be an act of retaliation. For now, Lingat's main concern is the whereabouts of his client and the case filed against ICE.

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